Not Again
by BlackHowling77
Summary: “You know,” Troy let an annoyed sigh escape his lips. “Back when I said anything was possible,” he paused again, looking around the back of the dark van. “This wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”
1. He's Back

A/N: So this is the sequel to Never Again, and I defiantly owe the idea and encouragement to xoxpinkpantherxox, because she said I should write it, so, here it is. It will be a full fledge story, I think…and I hope it's not too predictable, that would suck…(nervous laugh).

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Troy Bolton sighed as wind rocked his Honda Civic, the cloudy sky threatening rain. He turned his tired blue eyes to the park to his left. He watched a group of kids run down the slides, climb the monkey bars and play tag like nothing else mattered, like being a kid would last forever. His blue eyes found the digital clock on the dashboard. He gripped the steering wheel as the stoplight in front of him turned green, his eyes finding the smiling and carefree faces of the kids one last time.

_4:30_.

It had been two hours, two agonizing hours since they had learned the horrible news. Gabriella shifted uncomfortably next to him, one hand clamped tightly around his, the other balled into a fist in her lap. He tilted his head, it was the reaction he was expecting, rage mixed with worry.

The two had spent the last two hours dwelling on the fact that Gabriella's crazy and deranged father had escaped from prison. That he was probably going to come after her, and that the man that had stripped her of her innocent childhood was out in the real world…again. He let out a heavy sigh as he pulled into Gabriella's neighborhood, the car rocking with the right hand turn.

"They'll find him," Troy reassured, his blue eyes shifting to look at her.

"Does it matter?" he was surprised by the question, "He'll just find another way to get out again."

"Don't think like that," his hands tightened around hers, as his car stopped in her driveway, "As soon as you give up hope, he's won."

She gave him a weak smile, "How can you be so sure?"

His eyes softened as his hands tightened around her again, "Because, I just know."

"Very reassuring," she smiled and said sarcastically.

"I do what I can," he returned the smile and then looked to her front door, "You want me to walk you to the door?"

"Can you come in and stay for a little while?" she gave him a sheepish smile as her hand found the door handle.

"Anything for you," he leaned over and kissed her, then pressed his forehead to hers, her chocolate eyes holding his attention, "I would do anything for you."

"I love you," it was a whisper that shook his heart. He smiled at the person who could make butterflies appear in his stomach.

"I love you too," he replied, both of them smiling, "Come on, lets get inside."

Troy hauled himself out of the driver's side, the strong wind making a shiver run up his spine. He pulled his sweatshirt tighter around his neck as he joined Gabriella in their walk to her front door. They entered, Troy placing his keys on the small table next to her stairs as he glanced around the open foyer for any sign of her mother.

"Where's your mom?" he asked following Gabriella into the family room.

"Business trip," she replied walking towards the kitchen as he plopped down on the comfortable couch, "Her work sends her all over the place these days, she's in Main right now."

"I'm just grateful she's the only one that goes," he smiled reaching for the remote, "I couldn't stand you moving away."

"My mom promised me that they couldn't relocate us until after I graduate," she replied sitting next to him on the couch, a bag of Cooler Ranch Doritos and French Union Dip in her hand.

"You've discovered my weakness, Miss. Montez," he smiled reaching for the bag of chips.

"The one weakness we share, Mr. Bolton," she smiled as she opened the dip. Troy turned on the TV, the news channel popping up. The smiled quickly fell from his face as a picture of Gabriella's father appeared on the screen. Troy quickly changed the channel, only to have the same pair of dark, unforgiving eyes stare back at him. After the fifth channel to hold the picture, Troy snapped the TV off with an aggravated sigh.

"So, what movie should we watch?" he asked as he went towards the rack of DVDS under the TV. He knelt on the ground, his finger skimming over the many titles. He smiled when he realized that they were alphabetized and he shook his head as the smiled widened.

"If we're going to watch a movie," Gabriella's voice was hesitant, "can we call the others?"

Troy turned and smiled, "What, my company isn't enough for you?" her eyes went wide as her mouth opened to spill out a defense, "Gabriella chill, I understand, safety in numbers, I get it."

"Just, don't choose anything with crazy parents, ok?" she smiled and pulled out her cell phone.

He smiled as she spoke into the receiver. From what he could tell, Taylor was frantic and angry with them for not calling her sooner. Troy gave Gabriella a smile as she ended the call with Taylor and dialed Kelsi's number.

"She coming?" he asked, his hand hesitating over Live Free or Die Hard, a good, strong family movie.

"Both her and Chad are on their way," she answered, a small smile on her face, "They were already halfway here when I called."

"Expected nothing less from Taylor," he smiled and said to himself, his head spinning to the front door as the doorbell rang. He looked to Gabriella's eyes, shrugging his shoulders as he stood up. "I got it." He went to the front door and paused, smiling as he heard Gabriella reassure Kelsi that they were both fine.

Troy's hand found the bronze of the door handle as he turned the knob. A chilly wind entered the house as he opened the door, expecting to see someone he recognized on the other side. Troy's smile dropped as his blue eyes went wide. For the man standing on the other side of the door was none other than Ethan Montez, Gabriella's father.

Troy turned his head back into the house, his mouth opening with a warning that he would never get to finish, or even start. He felt something press against his chest and he turned back around to face the father. His eyes shifted down to the small tazer in the older mans hand.

"Remember me," Mr. Montez sneered as his thumb adding the needed pressure to button on the tazer. Troy's body went rigid, ten thousand volts shooting through his system. It was only when Mr. Montez pull back that Troy took a breath, staggering backwards. His hand went out behind him, coming in contact with the desk next to Gabriella's stairs.

The last thing Troy remembered was placing his hand over the spot the tazer had touched him, the hand on the table behind him knocking over the lamp and his keys. He had to do something to warn Gabriella! It was the last thing he thought as the floor came rushing up to meet him, his system crashing as he was enveloped in total darkness.

**.-.-.- Insert Dramatic Music -.-.-.**

**(Review!)**


	2. Helpless

A/N: Happy New Year!_

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_LAST TIME-_

"_Remember me," Mr. Montez sneered as his thumb adding the needed pressure to button on the tazer. Troy's body went rigid, ten thousand volts shooting through his system. It was only when Mr. Montez pull back that Troy took a breath, staggering backwards. His hand went out behind him, coming in contact with the desk next to Gabriella's stairs._

_The last thing Troy remembered was placing his hand over the spot the tazer had touched him, the hand on the table behind him knocking over the lamp and his keys. He had to do something to warn Gabriella! It was the last thing he thought as the floor came rushing up to meet him, his system crashing as he was enveloped in total darkness._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

His body slamming against cold metal woke him from his sleep. Blue eyes opened, his vision blurry as his mind caught up with him. Troy shook his head, the action making bile rise in his throat. He swallowed and looked around. His eyes went wide as he found Gabriella's unconscious body next to him.

Troy panicked and tried to reach out to her, but found that his hands were tied behind his back. He rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance as he shifted closer to her. He nudged the side of her head with his forehead, trying to get her to wake up.

She groaned, her dark eyes opening as she sucked in a breath. "Oww."

Troy gave a small smile as he rotated his shoulders; the joints were sore after being in one position for a long time. He pulled his hands over his butt, bringing them around the bottoms of his shoes until his taped wrists rested in front of him.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she mimicked his actions, bringing her taped hands in front of her.

"My backs a little sore and I can't really feel my hands," he admitted, the looked to her eyes, "You?"

"I guess the same," she answered as her eyes scanned the back of the van. She turned her head away from him, trying to look out the window. That's when Troy saw it, as her hair fell away, two small, circular dark marks on the back of her neck, which were surrounded by red, irritated skin.

"What happened?" he asked, his taped hands reaching up and skimming over the inflamed skin.

"The same thing that happened to your chest," she answered, her eyes dropping to the middle of his AU sweatshirt. He looked down, his eyes finding two, matching holes in his sweatshirt. Then he remembered: the little machine from hell, "I just didn't have clothing between me and the electricity."

"The tazer," he answered rolling and shutting his eyes. He remembered the feeling and compared it to being hit full force by a line backer. He guessed ten thousand volts of electricity was hot enough to burn through clothing. "Damn, this was my favorite sweatshirt too."

"I officially hate those things," Gabriella admitted, a hopeless smile on her face, "I never thought I would get one used on me," she paused, "All I can say is, ow."

"You know," Troy let an annoyed sigh escape his lips, drawing back Gabriella's attention, "Back when I said anything was possible," he paused again, looking around the back of the dark van, "this wasn't quite what I had in mind."

"I don't think anyone saw this coming," she said closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"But that's what makes me so good, Gabby," the dark voice made both of the teens stiffen, their heads shooting up to face the driver, "I do the unexpected."

Ethan Montez's voice was childlike, his smile unnerving. His dark eyes shown with an excitement Troy never wanted to see again. It was an excitement that made the teens stomach churn and Troy decided that nothing good would come of the father's current mood.

"I'm sorry I was late," the tone in the older mans voice was dark as his smile showed in the rear view mirror, "But I had to pick up a few things."

"You can't buy sanity at the mall, **dad**," Gabriella eyes were fixed on her fathers, a strong glare passing between the two.

"No Gabby," He gave her a small snort when her eyes narrowed, his smile turning sinister, "But you can buy knives."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A shiver ran up Taylor's spin as a second cop car passed them. She turned her eyes to Chad. She could tell he was nervous, even though he wasn't showing it. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white, and his face was void of all emotion.

"Something doesn't feel right," she hated saying the words, but she had to get them out.

"Don't say that," Chad let slip a little worry in his voice. He then cursed as he glanced into the rear view mirror, his eyes catching the quick flashes of blue and red. Taylor did as well and watched as another cop car passed them.

"Don't turn right, don't turn right," she was praying to deaf ears as the cop cruiser turned a sharp right and entered Gabriella's subdivision. "Chad!"

"I know!" he slammed on the gas, the car power sliding into the right turn.

It was a sight Taylor never wanted to see. Squad cars were everywhere, some occupied with cops, others not. Taylor spied Jason's blood red Tiburon as Chad pulled to the side of the road. As soon as they exited the car, cops surrounded them, giving orders, asking questions, and just plain yelling.

"Where are they?!" Taylor barked, the crowd parting as the fuming friend made her way towards Gabriella's front door. She paused as she found Kelsi on the front porch, her head in her hands. Jason looked up from his seat on the porch bench as Chad made his way behind Taylor.

"Where. Are. They?!" Taylor repeated as Kelsi stood up, Jason's eyes turning sad.

"Gone," the small brunette replied between sobs, "Taken."

"…no…" Taylor whispered, her breath catching. She staggered backwards into Chad's arms and they both sank to the pavement. The dark skinned girl sent a hand to her mouth as she chocked, tears unconsciously rolling down her cheeks.

"What happened?" Chad asked, his eyes asking Jason as Kelsi knelt down and hugged Taylor.

"Kelsi was on the phone with Gabriella when it happened," Jason explained, placing a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, "From what she told me, Troy went to go answer the door and was taken down. Gabriella panicked and told Kelsi to call the cops and come quick," he paused as his hands ran through his hair, "Said that her father had found them."

"We should have seen it coming." it came from one of the cops exiting Gabriella's front door. "We came straight here when the station got news of Ethan Montez's escape, but his daughter wasn't here and the house was empty. So, we dispatched unites all over the county to try and find her." The cop shook his head, "I'm sorry."

"Stop making excuses and tell me how you're going to find them!" Taylor yelled from the ground, her eyes enraged.

The cop backed away slightly, "well, the only thing we have right now are the tire marks from the car that he used."

"Wonderful," Taylor sighed sarcastically.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Troy tried to hide his fear, but he failed miserably. Shaking the thought of what Ethan Montez had in store for them, he turned his attention to Gabriella. She was taking the information rather well, her eyes showing anger as she stared at her father.

"What, no smart ass comeback?" Ethan Montez asked, a hint on disappointment in his teasing smile.

"Bite me," Gabriella rounded, her eyes narrow and pissed.

A roaring, amused laughter filled the van, then, "Mr. Bolton," Troy's head snapped to attention, his eyes locking with the older mans, "Congratulations on your division one signing with the AU Red Hawks," the smile widened, "A full ride if I'm not mistaken."

"Leave him alone," Gabriella's voice was low and threatening. But the tone only drew a larger smile from her father.

"So," Mr. Montez spoke, his voice turning serious, "He is your weakness, interesting."

"You're an asshole," she bite out, her jaw clenching.

"And you should have been smarter," the car slowed to a crawl, "I expected more from you."

"Leave her alone," Troy's voice was defensive, probably not the right tone in his current situation.

Ethan Montez gave an excited laugh as the car came to a stop, "I'm going to truly enjoy this."

"What?" Gabriella hesitantly asked. Troy could tell by the way her body stiffened that something was wrong. Troy had to admit, something in the pit of his stomach told him the future was not looking to good.

"Revenge," the ex father replied with a smile, before vanishing out he car door.

Troy's blue eyes went wide, he hadn't registered that they had stopped. He quickly turned to Gabriella, his hands reaching towards her face; "I'm not going to let him lay a finger on you."

"Troy, don't fight him," she pleaded, a single tear slipping from her eye "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt," he reassured, wiping the tear away with his thumb, "I'm going to get us out of here."

The back of the van was opened and Troy shifted closer to Gabriella. Mr. Montez blocked out he setting sun, a small backpack slung over his shoulder. The older man reached forward, but Troy kicked out at his outstretched hand. Ethan pulled back, a smile on his face. "Mr. Bolton, you shouldn't give promises you can't keep."

"How do you know I'm not going to keep them," Troy's voice was a growl as the father reached for something in the small backpacks front pocket.

"Troy Bolton," Ethan Montez withdrew a knife, but it was the biggest knife Troy had ever seen. The blade was as long as fingertip to wrist and as wide as two fingers, "Meet my military issue K-Bar."

**.-.-.- Insert Dramatic Music -.-.-.**

**(Review!)**


	3. The Weakness

A/N: I will confess, I really don't like this chapter, but it had to be done. And I will tell you that this story will get a little dark, just fair warning._

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_LAST TIME-_

_The back of the van was opened and Troy shifted closer to Gabriella. Mr. Montez blocked out he setting sun, a small backpack slung over his shoulder. The older man reached forward, but Troy kicked out at his outstretched hand. Ethan pulled back, a smile on his face. "Mr. Bolton, you shouldn't give promises you can't keep."_

"_How do you know I'm not going to keep them," Troy's voice was a growl as the father reached for something in the small backpacks front pocket._

_"Troy Bolton," Ethan Montez withdrew a knife, but it was the biggest knife Troy had ever seen. The blade was as long as fingertip to wrist and as wide as two fingers, "Meet my military issue K-Bar."_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Gabriella eyed the K-Bar, fear flowing strongly through her system. She had felt Troy stiffen beside her, his hands clenching into fists in front of him. Troy's stoic face was hiding his true emotions, but Gabriella knew his well enough to know he was just as scared as she was.

"Now, Troy," Ethan Montez's voice turned serious, "You are going to cooperate, or suffer the consequences."

Troy's eyes narrowed as Mr. Montez smiled, his dark eyes sparkling with delight. Troy gave a quick glance to Gabriella. She gave the slightest of nods, but her eyes told him something different. _Wait for the perfect moment._

"Ok," he hated giving into the sick man, but if Troy retaliated now, someone was going to get hurt. He wasn't going to take the chance of it being Gabriella.

"Good," Mr. Montez nodded his head, "Gabby, you're going to come out first."

Troy whispered encouraging words as she shifted towards the open doors. She squinted as the setting sun hit her full in the face, her taped hands reaching up to shield her eyes. It only took one moment of carelessness to le the bad guy get the upper hand.

Latter, she would curse the sun, almost as if it had aligned itself with her father. With the sun distracting her, she barley heard Troy's warning. Her eyes went wide when her father's arm snaked around her throat.

Out of reflex she cursed and reached up, digging her nails into the muscular arm. Her father flexed, cutting off her oxygen in the blink of an eye. She gasped, her vision flickering blurry. Her gasp made Troy's eyes flash with anger. His bound hands went to the bottom of the van floor, his body attacking forward.

The action wasn't fast enough. Gabriella caught the flash of the K-Bar before she felt the cold and solid steel against her neck. She watched as Troy's body snapped to attention, his jaw clenching.

_I'm sorry_, her chocolate eyes apologized.

_Not your fault_, he shook his head so only she could notice.

"I'm not going to hurt her, yet," Mr. Montez explained, "I just need to get you two into the cabin without a fuss." He lowered the knife a bit as he saw Troy relaxed, "if you are her weakness, then I figured, it must be the other way around too."

The situation had just gotten serious. Mr. Montez had discovered Troy's Achilles heal, the one thing that would lead the young teen to his downfall. As an eighteen-year-old adolescent, Troy could handle physical pain. Running suicides for his father until he threw up was pain. Breaking his arm after falling off his skateboard was pain. Dislocating his knee after going off an insane jump on a snowboard was pain. But all of that pain had an end, an end that usually led to rightful glory or a better Troy Bolton.

But as Troy had discovered in his final year of high school, there was another type of pain, one that even he couldn't handle. Physically a male is stronger, it's a fact, but emotionally. It was the only thing a true man was afraid of. Because the fact was, you could be the strongest man on the planet and still be done in by your emotions.

"Slowly, Mr. Bolton," Ethan shuffled back as Troy exited the back of the van. Ethan motioned for Troy to turn around, a cabin coming into view as he did so. He felt the tip of the K-Bar press against the back of his neck and he started walking. He held up his hands on either side of his head, showing Mr. Montez that he would cooperate.

Troy stepped up onto the porch of the cabin, opening the door as the knife pressed harder into his neck.

"Straight ahead. The door to your right." Ethan commanded, "Open it." Troy did as he was told, the door opening to show the darkness of a basement.

"Do me a favor Troy," Ethan's voice was calm, "Tell me how scared you are right now. Tell me how much you fear me."

"I'm sorry," his voice was sharp, his response quick, "I make it a habit of not kissing the ass of my kidnapper." If he could piss Mr. Montez off enough, then Troy might be able to get the brunt of what was to come. The father would completely forget to hurt Gabriella, and focus all his rage on Troy.

He was surprised when he felt the tip of the knife vanish from the back of his neck. His eyes squinted together in confusion, but they went wide as a strong foot planted against his back. A voice in the back of his head screamed at him. Drawing Mr. Montez's attention was a good thing, but doing it when he was standing at the top of stairs, wasn't a good thing.

Troy placed his taped hands out in front of him, his eyes rolling in annoyance. The action wasn't going to stop his fall, if anything; it would just break his hands first. He barley heard Gabriella's frantic scream as he came in contact with the first step.

He hit hard on his right shoulder, his downward motion speeding up his descent. He flipped, another step smashing into his back. Another hit, this one jarring his left elbow. After that, he just started to slide down, the back of his head bouncing off every step. His feet hit the ground of the basement first, his body sliding as he came to a rest on the cold floor.

It was safe to say that Troy was disoriented. He didn't know which way was up or down. His head was pounding and he was pretty sure his left arm was no longer attached to his body. He heard Mr. Montez's heavy footsteps and even the faint cries and curses of Gabriella.

"Your disrespect will cost you." Ethan growled.

"I haven't made you angry," Troy rolled over to his back, "Have I?"

Ethan gave a dangerous laugh, his grip loosening around Gabriella's neck, "No, Troy, you've just volunteered to go first."

"Fist for what?" Troy asked, his eyes confused. His eyes flashed with anger when the father didn't answer him.

"Tie him up," Mr. Montez pushed Gabriella forward, and Troy just realized that she had rope in her hands.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered as she knelt down in front of him. She grasped his hands in hers, staring into his blue eyes. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not," he argued as she tied a tight knot around his hands. She was pushed aside as her father stepped forward, reaching for the end of the rope. Troy watched as the older man tied the end of the rope to a metal rung in the wall.

It was in that moment that Troy looked around the basement. It was a reasonable size, but wasn't full of much of anything. There were a couple boxes resting against the back wall and a small window to his right. He could use the window to his advantage, if and only if he could get the ropes off of his wrists and get Gabriella out first. He was positioned a little ways away from the bottom of the stairs and there was a lone support beam in the middle of the room.

"Now you can go nowhere," Ethan smiled and turned his attention to Gabriella, "And do nothing."

She growled as he grabbed her around the wrists, dragging her to the support beam. He grabbed another set of ropes and tied it around her wrist and connected the end to the post. Mr. Montez took a couple steps back, glancing from Gabriella to Troy.

"Mr. Bolton," he turned his full attention to the blue-eyed boy, "You ready for your first lesson of the day?"

Troy sat up straighter, his eyes small and dangerous. "What lesson would that be?"

"Human Anatomy," the father replied reaching into his back pocket, a small switchblade being drawn. "I learned quite a few things in prison." The older man advanced forward, "Like, did you know, that there are over 35 main muscles in the thigh, including one major artery."

Troy went to give a witty remark, but Ethan's foot connected with the side of his head, making his collapse backwards to the ground. The next moment, all Troy could feel was pain and he let out an uncontrolled scream. A fire blazed up his right thigh, and something sticky and wet was running down his leg.

He shook his head, looking to where the pain was coming from. A large gash ran along the front of his thing, the small switchblade Mr. Montez was holding covered in his blood.

"The AU Red Hawks might want to get a new point guard," Mr. Montez smiled as he advanced forward again, this time stomping down on Troy's bleeding thigh, "This one's in for one hell of a ride."

"You just stabbed me in the leg!" Troy bellowed, his eyes shutting in pain.

Mr. Montez turned a smiling face to Gabriella, watching as his daughter cried helplessly, "You brought this upon yourself." He turned his attention back to the withering boy on the floor, stomping down on his chest. The father smiled as the air escaped Troy's lungs and he grabbed the blue-eyed boys left wrist. "Now, you can no longer run, so lets do something about this left arm of yours."

Gabriella's initial shock gave way to fury. She burst forward despite the tight ropes around her hands, cursing at her father. She couldn't just cry her eyes out and do nothing to help Troy.

But her heart was breaking. Every time he cried out, she flinched, her body feeling as if she was getting tortured. She shook her head, the tears falling to the cold basement floor. She gave a final sob as she glared up at her fathers back.

She threw her weight into another lung forward, as her father slide the small knife along Troy's arm, wrist to elbow, cutting through his sweatshirt. Her anger rose as he screamed again. The momentum carrying her forward pulled her hands over her head as the rope extended to its full length, the knots tightening dangerously around her wrists. She wasn't close enough to her father to do any real damage, so she kicked out her right leg at the last moment. The tip of her laces managed to crash into the back of his knee, sending the older man to the ground.

She crawled to her hands and knees, turning her eyes to Troy. Her father had dropped him as he fell, and the boys blue eyes were closed. Whether he was just in pain or unconscious Gabriella couldn't tell.

She was prepared for her father's angry retaliation; she had been prepared for it since she was ten. The bottom of his shoe connected with her chest, sending crashing back into the wooden support beam. She felt it splinter under her weight, but not break.

"If you wanted to go first," her father's foot crashed past her outstretched hands and into her stomach, the air rushing from her lungs, "You could have just told me."

"Just leave him alone," she coughed and chocked out, "This whole thing is about me."

"Don't listen to her," Troy's voice was soft, but his eyes held a raging fire. "hurt me instead."

"This is disgusting," his foot connected with her stomach one last time, before he turned, "I've never seen two people so willing to die for the other."

Gabriella locked eyes with Troy's from where she was lying on the floor. The word die had made both the teens stiffen.

Her father started pacing, "This is a very delicate situation," he knelt down in between the two, "Should I torture you,' he pointed to Troy with the small switchblade, "in front of her. Or, have fun with her," he smiled to Gabriella, "and let you watch," he pointed to Troy and smiled when his blue eyes went wide.

"Please," Gabriella whispered, "just don't hurt him."

"Gabriella," Troy's voice was frustrated, "shut up," he then turned his attention to Mr. Montez, "Please, just don't hurt her."

"You know what," Ethan Montez stood up, "I don't like you very much, but your already bleeding and that's no fun," he pointed to Troy, "So I'm going to have some fun with her."

"No, please, don't." Troy pleaded.

"Calm down, calm down," Mr. Montez's actions were giddy, "I have to go and get a couple of things, so I'll leave you two to dwell on what's to come." He walked past Troy's body on the floor, and up the basement stairs.

Gabriella turned to Troy as the door slammed shut, "Are you ok?"

He gave her a small reassuring smile, "Yeah, though my favorite sweatshirt is not having a good day."

"I'm sorry," she rested her head against the cold of the floor.

"I told you, it's not your fault," he said shrugging off his sweatshirt. He put his teeth to the hood and ripped, the piece of fabric coming off. Troy wrapped the cloth around his still bleeding thigh. His hands unbuckled his belt, wrapping the leather around his thigh to keep the fabric in place and slow the blood flow. He then turned his attention to Gabriella, "Are you ok?"

"It's a little hard to breath," she confessed, "But I'm fine."

"Good," he answered, tilting his head back against the wall, "So you won't mind if I just close my eyes for a little bit."

She gave him a small smile and he closed his eyes. She could tell he was unconscious as soon as he closed his eyes. She grunted as she hauled herself into a sitting position, resting her back against the support beam as her tied hands moved to her stomach. She glanced to the small window to her right; it was just big enough for Troy to fit through.

She gave a small laugh as she raised her tied hands to her mouth, her teeth digging into and loosening the knots. She had always feared her father, but he never was big on brains.

.-.-.- Insert Dramatic Music-.-.-.

(Review!)


	4. Please, No

A/N: I'm interested in seeing if you guys will hate me by the end of this chapter. (Evil Laugh)

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LAST TIME-

_She gave him a small smile and he closed his eyes. She could tell he was unconscious as soon as he closed his eyes. She grunted as she hauled herself into a sitting position, resting her back against the support beam as her tied hands moved to her stomach. She glanced to the small window to her right; it was just big enough for Troy to fit through._

_She gave a small laugh as she raised her tied hands to her mouth, her teeth digging into and loosening the knots. She had always feared her father, but he never was big on brains._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It seemed like eternity before he managed to drag his eyes open. He let out a ragged breath as his eyesight focused. His conciseness brought something else. Pain. His right thigh was threatening to come off and he couldn't even feel his left arm anymore.

"Troy," it was a soft whisper, but he recognized the voice, and the past events flashed before his eyes.

"What?" he asked, his voice aggravated, "Is it time to wake up already?"

"Get a hold of yourself," the sharpness in her voice made him look up, his eyes finding her face. She had brought her hands up to her mouth. The ropes that had tied them together were on the ground beside her, her teeth working vigorously on the duck tape.

"Why didn't I think of that?" he gave a small smile, lifting up his hands. His left arm burned, the limb dropping uselessly to his side. "Oh, that's why."

"Don't push yourself," her voice was muffled as she ripped the tape from her wrists; "I'll get you out of here."

"No, stop," he said as she made her way towards him, his eyes shooting frantically to the basement door. Troy had heard movement above him. Mr. Montez was coming.

"Get back!" he hissed waving his right hand. She froze, her head whipping around as the basement door opened. She scampered back to the ropes, grabbing the end and placing her hands behind her, lying down on her back.

Troy's eyes grew dangerously small as they fell upon the body of Ethan Montez.

The father smiled as he past the flaming boy. "You feeling ok, Troy?"

"Fine asshole," he spat at the older mans feet.

"Maybe I should've done something about that mouth of yours," it was an impish smile that made Troy's stomach do summersaults, "But I have a feeling this will shut you up."

His eyes flashed to Gabriella's only seconds before Mr. Montez stomped down on her chest. She gasped, but her father crouched down on his knees on top of her. She squirmed, but he gripped her around the throat. She stopped and turned away as her father's hand crawled up her stomach. She locked with Troy's blue eyes, silent tears sliding down her face as her father's hand found her right breast.

"Bastard!" Troy was on one knee, his right thing extended beside him. "Get your filthy hands off her!"

"Ohh," Ethan's eyes were bright, a smile on his face, "I haven't made you angry, have I?"

"Choose your next actions wisely," Troy growled, his gums rising up as he bared his teeth.

"Good advice," the older mans hands found Gabriella's jeans zipper. The slid of the metal made Troy's fists clench and Gabriella whimper slightly. Next came the button, which came undone in a swift movement.

Troy cursed again, holding Gabriella's stare. None of this was fair. All Gabriella had done was endured in life, accepted what had been given to her and made the best of it. She had taken a ruined life, and created one that was livable, filled with love and friends. She didn't deserve being kidnapped and raped by her own father. No one did.

Troy almost thanked Gad when Ethan Montez s stiffened, his hands moving away from his daughter. Gabriella felt the hesitation and dared a glance to her fathers face. His eyes held confusion and a deep feeling of dread washed over her.

"Your hands were tied in front of you when I brought you in," his voice held the confusion that was evident in his dark eyes.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Chad Danforth was beyond pissed.

He thought taking a trip to the police station would help better his mood. If he could watch the cops work, he might be convinced that they were doing something productive.

But what they were doing was far from productive.

Just sitting around waiting for tips was not productive.

"Is there anything else you guys can do?" He could hear the aggravation in Taylor's voice, and he glanced to her. Her arms crossed strongly over her chest. Her jaw clenched tightly.

"I'm going to say this just one last time, Miss. McKessie," it was Landon Farey, one of the cops that had been at Gabriella's house, "We're waiting on the test results from the tires to come back from the lab, we need to figure out what kind of car he's driving."

"But shouldn't you be searching for them anyways?" Kelsi spoke from next to Jason.

"Just because this station if full of police officers doesn't mean the streets aren't, Miss. Nielsen," he had crossed his arms, his voice tired of having to defend himself. "We have over fifty unites working on this case as we speak."

"So we just have to sit by and wait?" Taylors voice was flat as she stared down the officer.

"Welcom to my life," Landon Farey ran his hands through his hair. "Yes, until we get a tip, all we can do is prey for a lucky break. Prey that this bastard slipped up somewhere."

"You sound so reassuring." It was Jason, his voice dangerously low.

"Leave him alone," Chad barked. He was getting tired of hearing the arguing. "He's only doing his job."

"We just can't sit her and wait Chad." Taylor was arguing with him and he closed his eyes.

"As much as I hate to admit it Taylor," he opened his eyes and gave her a sidelong glance, "it's the only thing we can do right now." He saw Kelsi's mouth open in an argument, but he held up a hand, "We'll only interfere if we try to do something. We have to let them do their job, it's what their good at."

"Sorry," Taylor nodded slight to Landon, and he gave her the smallest of smiles, "This just sucks."

"I can't agree with you more," The cop agreed.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was in her father's moment of hesitation that Gabriella jumped to life. Her first feeling: get her father off of her. Using the leverage from the floor, she thrust her knee into his groin, smiling as her father's eyes bulged. He rolled off of her, grasping himself, and she scampered to her feet. In a mad dash to Troy, she buttoned and zipped up her jeans in one motion.

Her hands went to Troy's bound wrists before she fully reached him, but he pulled away from her, "What are you crazy?" his eyes were frantic, "get out of here!"

She gaped at him, "I'm not leaving you!"

Troy shoved her towards the stars as her father regained his composure, a wild roar erupting from his mouth. A feral grin spread across his aged face as he shot forward, reaching out to her.

Gabriella yelped and scrambled for the stairs. She got halfway before a strong hand wrapped around her ankle, ripping her backwards. The change in direction sent her forward, her forehead slamming into the edge of the steps with a painful crack.

She blacked out for a second, or at least she thought she did. One minute she was laying facedown no the stairs the next, her father was yanking her up by her hair.

"You never had this much fight in you when you were younger," the whisper in her ear made a shiver crawl up her spine, "I like it."

"Let her go!" Troy bellowed, kicking out at the father. The man just smiled and shimmied past the raging teen.

"You should have tried to escape first," her fathers voice was in her ear again, but his hand vanished from her hair and wrapped itself around her throat. "You would have gotten a good start ahead of me if hadn't bothered to get him lose."

"Bastard!" Troy growled from the floor. His blue eyes were raging, his dirty blond hair a mess. He watched as Mr. Montez dragged Gabriella to the center of the cabin room, out of his reach. She was thrashing and kicking, strong curses flowing from her mouth. Then, the man turned and smiled, walking cautiously towards Troy.

"You're going to have to accept the full force of your actions boy," Mr. Montez sneered, his grip tightening around Gabriella's waist as he flipped out the small switchblade.

"NO!" Troy cried out, his blue eyes wide at the sight of the small blade, "Please, anything, I'll do anything!"

"One small threat and you crumble," Mr. Montez's face held the deepest disgust; "This is why you need to disconnect yourself from all your loved ones. Someone can use them against you."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Troy asked, his voice frantic.

"To you?" it was laughed out, "Don't think this situation has anything to do with you."

"Then why?" his blue eyes held confusion.

"You are merely a tool, Troy Bolton, nothing more," the father readjusted his grip around Gabriella's stomach. "I needed to use you to break her, only you could do that because you are the one she truly loves."

Gabriella squirmed in her fathers grip. Troy met her angered eyes, as she stomped back on the older mans foot. It didn't accomplish what she hoped it would, it only succeed in her father bringing the edge of the knife closer to her throat.

"No!" Troy yelled, then turned his attention to Gabriella. "Please, Gabby, stop."

"You might want to listen to him, Gabby," the nickname made her eyes flash with rage, but she held her ground.

"Ethan, please," Troy was pleading, "Just let her go and we promise that we'll cooperate."

"I'm afraid I cant do that," the father answered smiling, "You gave her hope that she could get away from me, Mr. Bolton."

"No. Please, we promise."

"Time for your second lesson in anatomy for the day." Ethan Montez ignored the plea and continued with his sick smile, "The Latissimus Dorsi is found in the lower back, and if you cut said muscle, the patient will experience excruciating pain, not to mention rapid loss of feeling in the lower limbs."

Troy's eyes grew wide as Mr. Montez pulled away with the small switchblade, the older man's eyes holing the "Lets see if we can find it."

"NO!" the scream reverberated off the basement walls. It sounded in Troy's ears and made his world freeze.

Time slowed as Gabriella's body jerked, her eyes going wide as she looked to Troy, a pained whimper escaping from behind her clenched teeth. She gave a small cry as her father buried the switchblade up to the hilt in her back. The whimper was all that she let slip, veins in her neck popping out as she clamped her mouth shut.

Troy pushed himself off the ground and burst forward, only to have his body jerked back, the ropes around his wrists holding him strong. H was vaguely aware of pain in his thing, but it was nothing compared to the pain in Gabriella's eyes. He pushed his legs hard against the ground, his eyes watching as Gabriella's knees sagged, her eyelids sinking.

"…troy…" it was a whisper that shattered his heart. Tears streamed down his face as she gave him a weak smile, trying to reassure him that she was fine. Even with the smile, he could see her chocolate eyes dimming with pain.

"Even in death you whisper his name." Mr. Montez's spat, "Disgusting." The would-be father let go of Gabriella's stomach, ripping the knife from her back as she fell forward. She collapsed to her knees, taking one ragged breath before crashing face first to the basements floor.

"I'll kill you," it was a hostile growl that shook Troy's whole being. His blue eyes burned with the deepest rage he'd ever felt, tears still streaming down his face. "I swear to God, I'll kill you!"

"However flattered I am by that statement," Mr. Montez smiled, brandishing the knife cover in Gabriella's blood in front of Troy's blue eyes, "Now do you see what you've gone made me do? Got her filthy blood all over me." Mr. Montez stood and made his way towards the stairs, then he turned and smiled to Gabriella's body on the floor, "You two are no fun."

The slamming of the basement door sent Troy to his knees, his eyes focused on Gabriella's body. The red satin on the lower left side of her back had his full attention. He pulled forward again, but the ropes still held him firm around the wrists. He let his head drop, his chin touching his chest as he roared into the basement floor, tears spilling from his eyes.

"…troy…" his blue eyes shot up, his body freezing. Gabriella had pushed herself up her hands and knees; her face tilted up to find his blue eyes. She crawled forward slowly, small droplets of blood following her.

"Gabby, stop," he pleaded with her, hot tears burning in his eyes, "stay still."

"I have to get you…away," she collapsed next to him, her hands slowly reaching up to the tight knots around his wrists. She fumbled with them, cursing her lack of coordination.

"Gabriella, please." his heart was breaking, "Don't move. Don't talk. Just, save your strength."

She let out a torn breath, her eyes focusing on the knots; "I have to get… you out of here."

Her shaky fingers loosened the knots around his wrists. He watched her, his eyes shifting down to the small puddle of blood pooling on the floor beside her. He felt the ropes fall off his wrists as Gabriella collapsed back to the ground. Troy immediately reached for his already torn sweatshirt, forgetting about his injured arm, that didn't matter. He lifted her up so he could wrap what was left of the fabric around her; he had to stop the bleeding!

"Gabriella," her eyes focused on his, "This is going hurt."

She nodded her head and shut her eyes, readying for the pain. He grabbed the sweatshirt sleeves, tying them in a tight knot around her stomach as he closed his eyes. Gabriella pulled away slightly, a small yell escaping her mouth.

"Have to…get you out," she relaxed and said, her eyes finding the small basement window. Troy went forward, reaching his hands out to wrap around her shoulders. He went to lift her up, but she gave a painful cry and he laid her back down immediately.

"You…get out," she repeated, her eyes finding his as her breath caught. She chocked and then coughed as his blues eyes widened in realization.

"What are you saying?" he asked, shocked.

"You have…to get away," she repeated, her eyes focusing on his.

"I won't leave you," he shook his head. "Gabriella, you can't ask me to leave you here. I can barley run with this leg anyway."

"Please," her hand unsteadily reached up to his cheek. He gripped it tightly in his; "I'll only…slow you down even more."

"But," he let tears slip from his eyes, "I love you. I can't leave you."

She gave him a weak smile, "I love…you too, but it's my fault…you're here, it's my…father. I have to…get you out."

"I can't," he chocked, shaking his head again, "leave you."

"Please, Troy," her voice was weak and pleading, "you need…to get out."

"Don't ask me to do this," his eyes were closed as his head shook. He couldn't believe she was asking him to leave her.

"You said…you would do anything…for me," she repeated the words he had said before this whole ordeal.

"This is different," he argued. "You're twisting my words against me."

"Troy, you need to get away," her voice was strong and stern; "I can't live the…rest of my life knowing that…my father hurt you."

"And I can't live the rest of my life knowing that I left you here to die!" his voice was louder than he wanted it to be, but she had to realize what she was asking him to do.

"You have to have faith," she recalled his words again; "If you don't have faith…he's won."

"I can't leave you," he repeated. "You're hurt; I can't leave you like this."

"You have to trust me, Troy…I'll be fine…I won't leave you." She promised, her hand wrapping tightly around his.

Troy closed his eyes and let out a sigh, the mental battle raging as his jaw clenched. Running was going to hurt like hell, but with all the adrenalin, he could do it, for her. "I'll come back for you." It was the first promise he knew he would keep. He would come back for her, he would get her out, and he would get her away from her father.

"I know," she smiled, her hand reaching up to the middle of his chest, "Now go."

He paused, the silence of the basement intensifying their situation. He could hear Gabriella's father's footsteps above their heads, the man's heavy boots beating down on the floor. Troy looked down to her as her fist tightened around his white and blue t-shirt.

"Go," she pushed him away weakly. He made it to his feet in an awkward move, his left leg felt like jelly. He shook it out as the pins and needles subsided. He limped his way over to the small window. It wasn't too high up, but the frame wasn't exactly a good fit.

"He's going to hear me break the glass," he spoke the words out loud, his mind searching for a simple plan.

"I'll buy you as much time as I can," her voice was stronger from her position on the floor. If she didn't move, she couldn't feel the pain in her back, Troy's sweatshirt giving her as much support as she needed.

"You sure?" his question granted him a sidelong glance. He nodded his head slightly, drawing back his right fist. He didn't even register that breaking the glass would hurt, he figured he was in as much pain as his body could feel, but it did. He felt every little shard of it rip across his knuckles, but he forgot the pain as he heard the monster above them roar.

"What the hell are you two doing down there!?" Mr. Montez's voice thundered, his heavy footsteps beating down on the floor. Just as Troy finished knocking all the remaining glass off the window, the basement door burst open. Troy could almost hear the hinges snapping under the force.

Troy's eyes flashed to Gabriella. Her eyes were closed, her body unmoving on the basement floor. Panic well up in his being as Mr. Montez came into view, storming down the stairs. He fought the strongest urge to go back to her, forget about escaping and just be with her.

"What are you thinking boy!" it was a roar that froze Troy. He was torn between getting away and going back to Gabriella. It was only when Mr. Montez started forward, that Gabriella stuck out her leg, no longer playing dead. Her father crashed to the floor, caught surprised by his daughter's outburst.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" her chocolate eyes burned with a strong fighting spirit as she wrapped her arms around her father's ankles. She gritted her teeth as an agonizing pain flared from her lower back. But she had to hold her father; she had to buy time for Troy to get away, "RUN TROY!"

The older man kicked back at her, connecting with her face as he tried to get out of her iron grip. Her grip only tightened as her panicked eyes flashed to Troy's. The boy gave her one last; long look, his face twisted in turmoil, but the fire in her eyes made him push himself out the tiny window, to freedom.

He bolted as soon as his feet were under him; the echoing roar of the struggle between Mr. Montez and Gabriella blocking out all pain. Tears came to his eyes as he burst through the tree line, an enraged roar escaping his mouth. One though cut through his distraught mind.

He had left her in hell.

Alone.

**.-.-.-Insert Dramatic Music-.-.-.**

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	5. Coming Back

_LAST TIME-_

_He bolted as soon as his feet were under him; the echoing roar of the struggle between Mr. Montez and Gabriella blocking out all pain. Tears came to his eyes as he burst through the tree line, an enraged roar escaping his mouth. One though cut through his distraught mind._

_He had left her in hell._

_Alone._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Troy ran for all he was worth. His heart slammed in his ribcage as he hurtled through the woods, not caring about the branches that ripped at his clothing or the stinging slap of pine needles across his face. His side burned with a painful cramp and the gash running down his thigh throbbed in raw agony, the belt cutting off circulation as he ran. His breaths came in short desperate gasps as his mind focused on only two things, his blue eyes burning with determination and hot tears.

_Run. Get Help. Run._

It was getting darker, Troy saw through his tears, and he realized he had only about three hours of daylight left. He followed the dirt road they had come on from a safe distance inside the woods, just in case Mr. Montez decided to come after him.

The sprint through the woods was hell, the uneven ground killing his leg. He stumbled twice, only getting up because of the image of Gabriella that was burned into his mind. He had to find the main highway, get the attention of a passing car. That was his only hope of help. He had to get to the major road before nightfall; it would be almost impossible to maneuver through the woods after that.

He turned his head towards the sky and prayed. It was the first time in a long time that he had prayed; actually, it was the first time he had prayed…ever. But he figured that he was going to need someone else's help, so why not have the big guy on your side.

Thunder sounded across the sky, though it wasn't anywhere close to raining. He quieted, glancing through the dense trees. He caught light and then the far away sound of a running car. He glanced up to the sky one last time, his blue eyes turning grateful as he muttered a small thank you.

Then he was running towards the light, which would hopefully lead him to a road and a car, with people. He was completely oblivious to the terrain, which was going to be his downfall…literally. He didn't register the slight slop, or the sharp drop before he was falling. He let out an aggravated yell as he slid; flipping head over heals down the slope.

He came to a rest and pushed himself up without hesitating, his eyes going wide. The fall had put him right at the edge of the road and he glanced to his right. He could now make out a car coming towards him. It was a green Expedition and he took no pause in running out in front of it. The tires squealed as the driver slammed on the breaks and Troy's hands went out in front of him, bracing himself from the front of the car.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Troy sighed as the woman opened her car door, her eyes scorching with rage. She froze, however; when she saw the condition he was in. "Oh my God! You're bleeding! Do you need help?"

Troy bent over, his breath heaving. Now that he had stopped running, he realized just how much his thigh burned. His right jean leg was covered in blood, the large gash in his thigh still bleeding. "Do you…have a…cell…phone?" He panted through the pain. He had to stay focused.

Her eyes were surprised, but she reached into her jean pocket, "Yeah."

He motioned for it with his hand and she gave it to him. She came closer, watching him dial 911. He placed the phone to his ear and one ring later; he had help in the form of a woman's professional voice.

"What's your emergency?" it was monotone, almost bored.

"My name is Troy Bolton," he spoke quickly. "I was kidnapped earlier this morning along with Gabriella Montez."

He couldn't have seen it, but he heard the operator stop breathing for a moment. Then she got a hold of herself and her voice turned serious. "Where are you?"

Troy would have answered, but something swept over the woods, aiming the hidden birds in the trees flying away. The moment he had heard it, the world came to a stop. The sound had been a scream, a desperate, pain filled scream. _No. No. No. No. No._

His body whipped around to where he had come from, the operator's worried voice penetrating his fear filled mind. "Mr. Bolton, where are you?! Tell us where you are!"

Troy turned back to the woman standing next to him, shoving the phone in her hands. "Tell them where we are!" He ordered as he started running back up the hill.

"Where are you going?!" she yelled desperately, placing the phone to her ear.

He didn't turn, or answer her question. "Tell them to HURRY!" The slop gave him no problem with the adrenalin and he was halfway to the cabin within minutes. One thought fueled his run: He hoped he wasn't to late.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

She let go of her father's legs as the second blow hit her face, about five seconds after Troy had disappeared out the small window. She rolled to her back, her vision swimming. She let out a breath, choked and then coughed. She watched as her father scampered to his feet, his hands brushing the dust off the front of his shirt.

"Where is this fighting spirit coming from?" her fathers voice was slightly surprised as he spoke the words.

"I promised myself that I would never be the victim again," she replied, taking in an agonizing breath. "Especially to you."

"Interesting." her father spat at her as his hands went to brush off his shirt again. Then he asked, his voice confused. "You gave up your freedom so that he could escape?"

"Yes," she answered taking another breath. She could feel a bruise forming on her face where he had kicked her.

"But, Gabby," he crouched down next to her, his forearms resting on his thighs as he smiled. "Don't you realize what I'm going to do to you now that he's not here wasting my time?"

"None of that matters to me," she rasped out, her back screaming in pain, "as long as he gets away."

"You're willing to die for him?" it wasn't a question but a statement. Her fathers eyes were wide, his smile astonished. Almost like he didn't understand the sacrifice.

"Yes," she answered, her eyes determined.

"Well," her father's hand clamped down on her throat as he pulled her to her feet. She whimpered, as he half dragged half carried her to the foot of the stairs. "Let's not jump to conclusions here. He's not getting away and you're not going to die…yet." He smiled to her as he topped the basement stairs, "But once I'm done with you, I'll go look for him. But something tells me he isn't really running away," Gabriella back was shoved against a wall, her father putting more pressure on her throat, "Did you see that look he gave you?" he smiled at her and inclined his head, both eyebrows arching up as his eyes teased her, "Gabby, he's coming back for you."

"Don't call me that," she pushed against the hand around her throat, baring her teeth, "Only friends and family call me that and you were no father of mine." She spit in his face. She wasn't going to show her father that she was scared out of her mind.

"Well, if I was no father of yours," Mr. Montez let a little anger slip through his words as he wiped at his face, "Then you were no daughter of mine, and I will have no regret, what so ever, in showing you a couple more tricks I learned in prison," his eyes turned dangerous and evil, "It's the least I could do, after all, you sent me there."

"Go ahead," her voice was firm, "I'm not scared of you anymore."

"I'm glad to hear it," her father smiled as he pulled the military K-Bar out from behind his back. "I was saving this knife for you, anyways."

"Dad, think," her eyes were glued to the blade of the knife that was way to close to her head. "You do this, and you will never get away."

"Oh, so now I'm dad," his voice was lighthearted and he was smiling, "But it's only because I'm a threat and your scared," he paused, his eyes brightening almost like he had remembered something forgotten. He raised his eyebrows and gave her an impish smile. "I'm wondering. Have you ever seen what the muscles of the shoulder look like?"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Her heart was racing, her dark brown eyes waiting for an answer. Landon Farey was currently on the phone, the conversation turning serious as soon as the phone touched his ear. Sh ehad watched as the cops eyes grew wide, his voice turning sharp.

Taylor glanced down the line. Chad's hand was clamped tightly around hers, Kelsi hugging Jason's chest for dear life. She new what they were all feeling, anticipation. Her eyes shifted back to Landon as he hung up the phone, makinjg his way towards the group of friends.

"We found Troy," were the first words out of the cops mouth. Taylor thought she would have been happy, she was happy, but the mencion of only one name made an unfamiliar fear buld up in her stomach.

"What about Gabriella?" she asked and watched as a hidden emotion flashed inhis eyes. _No._

"The operator on the phone said that the woman who had almost hit him----."

"What?!" Chad asked, his eyes wide. "Hit him? Like with a car?"

Landon put up his hands, "She didn't hit him, almost. But it was only him, no Gabriella."

Taylor closed her eyes, "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah," Landon scratched the back of his head. "We found Troy. That doesn't mean we still have him."

"WHAT?!" the four friends yelled, making Landon take a step back.

"Apparently, Troy heard something mid sentence with dispatch and sprinted back into the words. He left the woman who had almost hit him and told her to tell the cops where they were and bring help…fast."

"What does that mean?" Kelsi asked, her voice soft.

"It means I'm going to where he was last. We already have units on their way." The cop replied, reaching for his coat and putting it on. Taylor took a step forward and the cop put up a hand, almost like he knew what she was going to say. "You four can't come."

"But--." Taylor went to argue, but Chad's hand tightened around hers.

"Just bring them back to us." Chad nodded his head towards Landon, and the cop gave a small smile.

"You have my word," he nodded his head and walked past the four friends. He opened the station door and paused. "I will bring them back to you." He exited towards his parked cruiser, leaving the four friends with just a promise.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

She went to protest, even to plead, but her father didn't hesitate. He flipped the knife in his hands once, and then stabbed forward, the monstrous blade sliding through her right shoulder.

Her head tilted up, her eyes watering as she screamed into the small cabin. The hand around her throat tightened, the air in her lungs gone. She tried to breath, but couldn't. She coughed as she brought up her left hand, trying to pry her fathers away from her throat.

Her eyes shifted down to look at the handle of the knife. She couldn't see the blade; it was buried to deep in her shoulder. It might have even implanted itself in the wall behind her, but she couldn't tell. Pain washed through her, burning in her blood as it seeped through the new wound. Her right arm went limp, her hand unclenching and hanging by her side. Her father wiggled the knife a little, a feral smile on his face. She tilted her head up, clenching her eyes shut as she screamed again.

"Whoops," her father's voice was childlike, his smile unnerving, "Looks like I cut the Subscapularis muscle. Damn, I thought I made it through clean too."

She whimpered and dropped her head, blinking repeatedly. Her vision was fading, "Come on Gabby, you got to stay focused." Her father shook her by the neck and her eyes ripped open.

She clamped her mouth shut, her head dropping towards the floor, "You're a monster," her words were weak, but they held the purest of anger, "You deserve to be locked away for all eternity."

Her answer was her father ripping the knife from her shoulder. Her eyes grew heavy as her body went forward, her shoulders dropping. The only thing keeping her upright was her father's firm hand around her throat. She could feel the blood flow stronger down her arm, dripping from her fingertips.

"I may be a monster, but you were always fun," he let go of her neck, lettering her drop.

She slid to the floor, the wall keeping her upright as her feet fell out from under her. Her shoulders slumped, her chin resting against her chest as her eyelids dropped, her breath heavy, her back resting against the wall. Her fathers voice echoed through her head, making him seem a great distance away, "And I might have to go back to jail for all eternity, but I'll be content…because you'll be dead." Her world fell apart around her and she was dragged into oblivion.

**.-.-.-Insert Dramatic Music-.-.-.**

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	6. Futile

_LAST TIME-_

_Her answer was her father ripping the knife from her shoulder. Her eyes grew heavy as her body went forward, her shoulders dropping. The only thing keeping her upright was her father's firm hand around her throat. She could feel the blood flow stronger down her arm, dripping from her fingertips._

"_I may be a monster, but you were always fun," he let go of her neck, lettering her drop._

_She slid to the floor, the wall keeping her upright as her feet fell out from under her. Her shoulders slumped, her chin resting against her chest as her eyelids dropped, her breath heavy, her back resting against the wall. Her fathers voice echoed through her head, making him seem a great distance away, "And I might have to go back to jail for all eternity, but I'll be content…because you'll be dead."_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread as silence washed over the forest. He could see the cabin from his hiding spot, a bright floodlight illuminating the ground in front of the small cabin. His hand reached for a thick fallen tree branch that rested beside him.

A beast roared inside of him as Mr. Montez strolled out of the cabin and onto the front porch. He was wiping his hands with a rag that had once been white. It was now stained red. Any number of his friends would have been against Troy next actions, but he would have ignored them anyway. Nothing mattered but saving Gabriella, and if that meant going through her father…so be it.

He stood, swaying on his feet for a moment, his right thigh complaining with the action. He shook his head, his hand tightening around the tree branch in his right hand as he stepped out into the open. He was shrouded in darkness, the moon above him the only light that let him see. He was getting closer to the cabin perimeter, and was only inches from entering the light when Mr. Montez spoke.

"Troy boy," he looked up, a smile on his face. He threw the blood stained rag to the ground as he took a step forward, off the porch. "I knew you would come back."

"Where's Gabriella?" he asked through his teeth.

"She's inside sleeping," the smile on the older mans face made Troy's blood burn. "So I guess it's just you and me."

"I wouldn't want her to see this anyways," Troy took a step forward, limping a little.

"You going to kill me Troy?" Mr. Montez smiled as he asked the question.

"I make a habit of not breaking my promises," the two started circling each other. "And I did swear to God."

"That's a little dark for you," Mr. Montez withdrew the blood stained K-Bar. Troy's eyes went wide. The last time he had seen the monstrous blade, there hadn't been any blood on it.

"What did you do?" he growled as the father smiled.

"Calm down, Troy," Ethan Montez took a step forward as he gave Troy another impish smile. "I just had a little fun."

Troy roared, swinging forward with the tree branch. Ethan sidestepped, slicing at the teen's head. Troy's blue eyes went wide and he pulled his head back as he saw the flash of steel. He backpedaled, falling away from Mr. Montez. He reached his hand up towards his right cheek, feeling a small sting with the contact as he found the shallow cut.

"Dose it sting a little?" Troy's eyes flashed with anger as Mr. Montez taunted him. "Now you really look like an action star hero."

"You're just so full of yourself," Troy spat, taking a limping step forward again.

"I have my moments." Ethan shrugged, matching Troy's step forward.

"It makes me sick." Troy swung forward again. Ethan smiled and caught the branch. It was then that Troy realized he was to close, and the father struck. Troy rolled away, but the tip of the knife caught him at his left hip and was dragged across his chest to his right shoulder. He let go of the branch and staggered backwards, looking up just in time to see Mr. Montez kick out at him. The foot hit him square in the chest and he went sprawling to the ground. Mr. Montez snapped the tree branch in half, throwing the two useless pieces to the ground.

"You want to know why I prefer knifes over guns, Troy?" Mr. Montez circled him, pitching the K-Bar in his hands from left to right.

"They're shinier," Troy laughed as he looked down to his chest. His shirt was cut, the shallow gash running from hip to shoulder. It was bleeding, but was too shallow to cause any real harm.

Mr. Montez ignored him and continued, "Anyone can kill with a gun. It's easy. You point, aim and fire. No effort and you've just extinguished a life. It's not very fun." he crouched, his arms resting on his thighs, the bloody K-Bar hanging loosely from in between his hands. "But with a knife, you have to get close. You have to be close enough to feel your target, to smell them. And then when you stab them, you can witness the life drain from their eyes. You can watch as they slip into an unbeatable darkness." The older man pointed to Troy with the K-Bar, "Killing with a knife is **fun**."

"You're out of your mind." The father was crazy, and Troy had no idea how Gabriella was related to him.

"Out of my mind?" it was said with a smile. "I have never been so clear headed in my entire life."

"You're going to hell." Troy lifted his head up to glare at the father. He moved his left hand to run along the shallow cut across his chest. He had managed to twist away, and didn't dare think about what he would have looked like if he hadn't.

A roaring laugh filled the space in front of the cabin, "Hell?" he walked towards Troy. " Is that supposed to scare me? Boy, I have seen hell. I have lived in it. Hell does not scare me."

Troy laughed, "I didn't realize how much of a moron you were."

Mr. Montez sneered, walking closer until he was towering over the teen. His dark eyes turned sinister. "She screamed your name. I know you heard it. You wouldn't have come back if you didn't."

The smile on Troy's face dropped. Then, the helplessness hit him. He could have prevented her pain if he had just stayed with her. But he had left her alone, at the mercy of her deranged father. The screams he had heard in the forest rushed through his mind. He could have prevented the screams; he could have prevented her pain.

"She screamed your name when I slid this knife clean through her shoulder." The father flashed the K-Bar in front of his face. "I've been told that bleeding to death is a very painful way to die."

"She's not dead," he was denying it, crawling backwards and away. He caught the broken tree branch out of the corner of his eye and a plan flashed through his mind.

"Deny all you want," Mr. Montez followed him, taunting. "But I can assure you, what you find in that cabin, I don't think you will like."

"I forgot to mention something," Troy laughed, the broken tree branch just within reach. "I called the cops. They should be here any minute."

Surprise and shock flashed through Mr. Montez's eyes, but he blinked it away. "You run away fast." He stepped forward, raising the knife. "Then I guess I should finish this up. It's been a pleasure torturing you Troy Bolton."

Everything slowed in Troy's eyes. He rolled to his right, his hand grasping around the broken tree branch as Mr. Montez thrust downward. The blue-eyes boy shot to his feet, dodging as his thigh nearly collapsing on him with the effort. He gritted his teeth as he shoved the broken end of the branch into Mr. Montez's stomach.

The sound was gruesome, something Troy never wanted to hear again. Solid wood meeting soft flesh. The gasp from Ethan Montez made Troy move forward again, his anger overpowering him. "The pleasure was all mine." He growled, staring into the father's surprised eyes.

The two fell to the ground, Troy's hand still wrapped firmly around the branch sticking out of Mr. Montez's stomach. "I believe you told me in the beginning that it was futile to put up resistance. That there was nothing I could do?" Troy paused and relished in the fathers fear and astonishment. "Allow me to correct you somewhat. The situation in which you find yourself in right now," he paused for one last time. "This is what we call futile."

"True words," Ethan Montez coughed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Spoken from a man who has nothing left." He smiled, showing bloody teeth. "Spoken from a man who has lost everything."

"…no…" He barley heard the sound of sirens as he pushed himself off the ground. He limped as fast as he could to the front porch, slipping and falling to his knees when he tried to go up the stairs. He pushed himself back up and burst through the door.

He froze at the sigh of her body, propped up against the far wall. Then his eyes saw the blood. It stained the wall above her bowed head, and he could see where her father had stabbed through her shoulder, a bloody circle at her respected height. The blood trail from her shoulder slid down the wall, and there was even a small stain from the wound in her lower back.

The screeching of tires on the dirt road snapped him back to his horrible reality. He limped forward falling to his knees in front of her. Her head was bowed, her black shoulder length black hair covering her face. His hand hesitantly went to her cheek, lifting up her head.

He choked. Her eyes were half lidded; a dead woman's gaze that held none of the fire that defined her as Gabriella. Troy felt like crying. A dry moan escaped his throat as he looked into her dull chocolate eyes. He clenched his teeth and turned his head, another roar escaping his mouth. He looked back down to her, his breath catching. His eyes flickered to her chest as he caught movement, he waited, and again it rose!

He reached up his other hand, cupping her face in his hands. "Come on baby," he pleaded in anguish. He stared into her half open eyes, willing her to respond. He waited, seconds crawling by as he waited. It was only then that she blinked, her heavy eyelids closing and then ripping open, her mouth falling open as she dragged in a deep breath.

He cried out as she toppled sideways, her eyes threatening to close again. Troy caught her around the shoulders and pulled her head in his lap.

Then the tears came. The pain Gabriella was in made his heart clench and the tears flow like a running stream. How could this one girl have so much power over him? And yet he knew the answer even before asking it, he **loved** her. The proof was his sudden collapse, his emotions overflowing as he looked into her pain filled chocolate eyes.

"You came back," she smiled despite her condition, one of her hands reaching for his.

"Of course I did," he smiled down at her, his eyes going to her still bleeding shoulder. "Jesus, Gabriella…" he trailed off, his hand skimming over the wound. She flinched and he pulled away.

"I'm fine," it was a weak pant that didn't succeeded in convincing him. Just by looking at her, he knew she was in trouble. He whipped his head around as he heard car doors slam shut and loud yells, he could also hear sirens in the distance. _Cops. Ambulances. Help._

"IN HERE!" he yelled, and then heard heavy boots on the front porch. "HURRY!"

The cop that entered skidded to a halt, his hand reaching up to cover his nose. "Jesus Christ." Troy looked down, a smile on his face as he was about to tell her everything was going to be ok.

Everything fell apart after that.

It was the one thing that had the power to make him panic. Her eyes were closed. "No. No. No. Gabriella, open your eyes!" he pulled her up into his arms. "Come on, baby. Wake up."

Her eyes dragged open. "…sorry…"

He took a deep breath. "Don't scare me like that."

A firm hand on his shoulder made him look up. "Are you Troy Bolton?" The cop who had entered asked.

"Yes," Troy answered almost rolling his eyes. _No, I'm fucking Chuck Norris!_

"The ambulances are just pulling up," the cop stated kneeling next to him, his eyes glancing down to Gabriella's body. Troy nodded his head and glanced back down to Gabriella.

"Just hang on for a little longer," he stroked her cheek.

"Hurry…getting tired…" it was a low mumble, her eyes sliding in and out of focus. One of her hands reached up and found the slash in his shirt, her eyes scrunching together. "Are…you…ok?"

"I'm fine," he choked out. Here she was bleeding to death and she was worried about him. He looked to the cop next to him. "The man out there, what are you going to do with him?"

"He's the one that did this to you?" Troy nodded. "He's going to jail for a very long time."

A voice buzzed over the radio on the cops shoulder. He reached up, "We're in the cabin, all medical units needed now!"

Troy would recall it as sounding like a stampede. Two paramedics burst through the door, their red jackets blinding his blue eyes for a second. The cop next to him stood and backed away, leaving the EMT's to their jobs. A third EMT walked through the door with a shock board in both hands.

"You're going to have to let her go, Mr. Bolton." One of the paramedics instructed, and Troy reluctantly nodded. The moment Gabriella was out of his arms, he panicked. Wes and Logan, the two EMT's that had entered first went to work. Wes caught Troy's sweatshirt tied around her waist and stopped the others.

"Possible back wound," he waved his hand and Gabriella was rolled to her side. Wes inspected the wound. "No damage to the spinal cord, we can move her. One. Two. Three." The two lifted her onto the shock board, a breathing mask being placed over her mouth. The third paramedic caught sight of Troy, his brown eyes going wide.

"Mr. Bolton, are you ok?" Troy ignored the question and followed the paramedics carrying Gabriella outside. He didn't know if it was a good thing that he couldn't feel his body. He was slowly going numb. He hauled himself into the back of the ambulance, his hand wrapping around Gabriella's. He barely felt someone untying the belt from his thigh, and it was only when the cloth wrapped around it was removed that he yelled out.

"I can't get the bleeding under control!" Troy turned his head to look at Wes. The paramedic's eyes were frantic, his hands switching a bloody gauze pad for a clean one.

Gabriella started to tremble, "She's going into hemorrhagic shock!" Landon yelled, his voice panicked. Troy could hear the erratic beeping of the EKG monitor hooked up to Gabriella.

He was getting disy, blood loss taking its toll. But in his last moments of concesness he looked to her eyes, the deep chocolate brown that he had fallen in love with. They were staring right at him. Her mouth was open slightly beneath the breathing mask, her breaths coming in desperat gasps. He could tell she was fighting, for him, for Taylor, for everyone else she would leave behind. Then, her eyes slowly closed and his world fell to complete and utter darkness.

The noise and following sentence that accompanied him into oblivion was something he prayed he would never hear.

A long, unchanging, high-pitched tone.

And.

"Get the defibrillators, she's flat lining!"

**.-.-.- Insert Dramatic Music -.-.-.**

**(Review! AHHHHHH!)**


	7. Waiting Room Worry

_LAST TIME-_

_The noise and following sentence that accompanied him into oblivion was something he prayed he would never hear._

_A long, unchanging, high-pitched tone._

_And._

"_Get the defibrillators, she's flat lining!"_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was the second time in six months that she had been to the hospital, both times concerning her best friends. But she assured herself, this time was much more serious. The waiting room wasn't crowded, but there were a couple of people to the far corner. A little boy had a gauze pad across his chest, and Taylor had overheard that a dog had attacked him.

Kelsi was sitting on the couch next to Jason, both teens' heads in their hands. Chad was leaning on the wall next to the double doors that lead outside to the ambulance deck. He would glance over his shoulder once in a while, shifting on the wall. He was nervous, they all were.

Thoughts shot through Taylor's mind as she paced. If only she had gotten to Gabriella's house sooner, if her and Chad had made it in time.

Taylor started to panic as she heard strong sirens, Chad pushing himself off the wall to stand next to her, Jason and Kelsi also joining them. Taylor looked around, nurses and Doctors had started to scamper, getting ready for the new arrivals. She saw two doctors confront each other, clipboards in hand as they went over the needed information.

"No matter what happens," she turned to look into the eyes of each of her friends, "they're going to be fine."

It was in that moment that Taylor McKessie world crashed around her.

The swinging doors to the emergency room burst open, the group of four friends flinching back. The relieved smiles on their faces dropped, however; when Troy was wheeled in on the first stretcher.

He had a breathing mask over his face and an IV in his arm. His right thigh was heavily wrapped, though Taylor could see that it was still bleeding. His shirt was off; his chest wrapped with so many bandages that Taylor could hardly see his skin. There was gauze wrapped around his left forearm as well, along with a tiny gauze pad placed over his right cheek. His blue eyes were half open, though she didn't really think he was conscious.

"BP's 120 over 80," an EMT held an IV drip bag over his head as he walked next to the stretcher.

"What happened?" one of the two doctor rushed over, falling in stride next to the stretcher.

"Troy Bolton, age seventeen. Shallow knife wounds to the right upper thigh, forearm and across the chest," the EMT answered. "He's lost a lot of blood. We need to get a transfusion in him right away."

The first double doors burst open again as Troy vanished through the ER doors, the next stretcher being rolled in. Taylor barely heard Chad's strong curse or Kelsi's choked cry. Her eyes were glued to Gabriella, her friend's body unmoving on the stretcher. Her shirt had been ripped open, her bra showing and in that moment Taylor knew Gabriella had flat lined. The red inflamed marks on her chest made Taylor's eyes water. Her best friend had…died.

"BP's 90 over 30!" It was yelled over the irregular beating of the EKG by another EMT, his voice almost panicked. The second waiting doctor rushed over, her soft brown eyes going wide. Gabriella was sweating, her olive skin clammy. All the color had drained from her once alive face. Her breathing was erratic, Taylor could see by the mask over her fogging up in irregular patterns. An IV was in her arm, but the fluid was nearly gone.

"Gabriella Montez, age seventeen. Stab wounds to the shoulder and lower back," Wes responded, swapping another bloody gauze pad from Gabriella's shoulder. "She's hemorrhaging and flat lined on the way here. We got her back but she's going into hypovolemic shock!" Another doctor rushed over with a new box of sterile gauze. "She's lost 1/5 of her normal blood supply! She's bleeding out!"

"How long has she been unconscious?" the doctor asked opening one of Gabriella's eyelids, flashing a small flashing light to see the pupils.

"Twenty minutes," Wes answered, his eyes soft.

"Get her into surgery now!" The doctor ordered from beside the stretcher. "We need to get the bleeding under control and stabilize her so we can operate!"

They passed through the ER double doors and the waiting room fell silent. Suddenly Taylor felt as if every fiber of her being was soaked with fear and sadness. Her knees turned to water and she collapsed to the ground, Chad wrapping his arms around her shoulders, but being dragged down anyway. She could feel his hot tears on the back of her shoulders, and she watched as hers fell to the white tile of the hospital floor. Chad lifted her to her feet, mumbling small, meaningless encouragements into her ear.

Two people entered through the double doors, and Taylor looked over to see Landon and another cop. She locked eyes with Landon, the police officer's orbs flowing with sympathy, his dark eyes apologizing for not bringing them back in one piece. His dark hair was a mess, almost as if he had been running his hands through it constantly, and there was the faintest hint of his eyes being bloodshot. He had been crying.

"Kyle," he turned to the officer next to him. "Tell me everything that happened."

"Well," Kyle's hands were shaking. "I've been to a lot of crime scenes, Landon, but nothing like this." He took a deep breath. "When we arrived on scene, Ethan Montez was on the ground, a tree branch protruding from his stomach. We had seen Troy dash into the cabin as we drove up, but our first priority was to apprehend Mr. Montez." Landon crossed his arms over his chest, a nervous action. "As soon as Montez saw us, he tried to get away, he ran, but my partner followed and caught up to him. He wasn't going to get very far with a tree branch sticking out of his gut."

"Is he here?" Landon asked, shifting on his feet, "In this hospital?"

"No," Kyle shook his head. "We figure there would be too many…" the cop paused, his eyes searching for the right answer, "…Complications. He was transferred to Cibola General Hospital down the road."

"Probably a smart move," Landon mused. "I don't think Mr. Bolton is going to be too happy when he gets here. And having Mr. Montez in the same hospital, though I wouldn't really care, might be a danger to the sick bastard."

"I agree," Kyle answered, looking out the window.

Though nether of the cops were very old, probably twenty-seven in age, they looked like they had been through hell. When Taylor thought about it, so had she. But she had to give Kyle credit, arriving on scene and keeping his cool, even after seeing Troy and Gabriella, wasn't something just anyone could do. The next part she eavesdropped, however; showed her how human cops are, even if they could be jerks sometimes, things really affected them. Not just anyone could peruse a career in law enforcement. You hade to had to be smart, in shape, and apparently have a strong stomach.

"You ok?" Landon asked, his hand going to rest on his friends shoulder.

Kyle shook his head, "I've just never seen anything like that before." He gave Landon a weak smile, as he calmed his shaking hands, "It just got to me a little."

"How bad was it?" Landon asked, but Kyle just shook his head. "Kyle, you have to explain to me what happened. I need to know."

Kyle closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face, "I heard the boy scream from inside the cabin. It was frantic and I rushed in, but the smell was just so strong, I thought I was going to throw up. The iron scent invaded my nose, and I could almost taste the copper. There was some much blood Landon. It was everywhere. On the walls. The floor." There were tears in his voice. That was wrong. Cops barley ever showed emotion. "I've never seen someone lose so much blood before. She was in hell and yet…."

Taylor wasn't the fainting kind, but the tone and imagery the cop used was too horrible and it made black dots form in front of her vision. It felt like she blinked twice and someone jumped events forward a minute or two, like fast forward.

"And yet what?" Landon asked, coaxing his friend.

"And yet she was conscious when I kneeled down next to her and the boy." The cops eyebrows raised, his voice almost astonished. "I don't know how, but she was. I mean, she should have been unconscious. Hell, she should have been dead. But the boy, Troy," Kyle corrected himself. Troy had a name and it deserved to be spoken. "Was talking to her, pleading, crying, anything to try to keep her awake. She was weak, but she was still conscious, and she reassured him she was going to be fine."

Kyle closed his eyes and shook his head, his hands running through his dark brown hair. "For the four seconds I was there before the paramedics arrived, I realized just how much those two kids really loved each other. And I thought about how unfair it was, that two people who were so madly in love had to go through something like that." He paused, licking his lips and looking past Landon's shoulder. Taylor looked down to the ground when he found her eyes, but he continued anyway. "And this is something I'll never forget. When I looked into his blue eyes, I saw the deepest fear I had ever seen in a human being. I was surprising because he was just a kid, but every single fiber of that boys being was scared to death that he was going to lose her…...forever."

"The whole thing just makes you question whether we're doing any good at all," Landon explained in a sigh.

"Yeah," Kyle nodded his head. "No matter how many bad guys I take down, more always seem to spring up. I don't think I can take seeing anymore innocent kids lives being taken away from them."

We have to be strong, we have to persevere," Landon's hands went to Kyle's shoulders. "Because if we don't do it, who will?"

"Yeah, I guess." Kyle nodded taking a deep breath. "I'm gonna go back to the station, fill out the paperwork for this mess."

"Ok," Landon nodded his head as his friend walked past him. "I'll see you later."

Landon turned to the group of four as Kyle left, "I'm sorry."

Taylor's head jerked back. "Why are you apologizing?"

Landon's eyes turned soft, his voice low, "I didn't get there in time to stop…"

"You got there in time to save them." Taylor spoke, hoping to give the beaten cop and herself hope.

"You brought them back to us." Chad said. "We should be thanking you. Not accepting your apology."

"If that's what you call saving them," Landon glanced over his shoulder to the ER double doors, his jaw tightening.

"You can't believe that," Kelsi stepped forward towards the tall cop. "If you have the slightest bit of doubt, things will go downhill."

Landon's head tilted to the side as he took in the four friends. For kids that were so young, they held wisdom beyond their years. Even thought he could tell they were nervous and scared, they were strong enough to believe everything would turn out fine. It was an attribute most kids lacked nowadays.

"We're their friends. We're their strength," Chad spoke strong, his hand wrapping around Taylor's, "and they need us right now more than ever." The group of four hunkered down and prepared themselves for the long wait.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Eleven hours later, well into the early hours of a new day, and the four friends were still waiting. This time, they weren't alone. Troy's parents were present, along with Gabriella's guilt ridden mother. She hadn't stopped crying since she had arrived, no matter what Mrs. Bolton tried to do, the tears still flowed.

Chad didn't blame her as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He didn't know how he would have taken the news. She had arrived surprisingly fast, catching the first flight from main, and arriving in record time. But her quick arrival only gave her more time to weep.

Kelsi was asleep on the couch, her head in Jason's lap. He had one hand wrapped around her small one, the other one holding open a magazine. Taylor was sitting in the chair next to where he was standing, her eyes staring at the plain white tile of the waiting room. Her head would shot up whenever she would hear someone coming, but it usually was a receptionist or doctor for another family.

The reason why hospitals were so hated was this. They smelled of death, but looked like heaven. The strong smell of anticipant made Chad's stomach churn, but the brightness of the hallways almost gave him a false sense of hope. Nothing bad could happen in a place so white, in a place so pure. Wrong.

"Family and friends of Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez?" the question made Chad whip around. He felt everyone else at his back, the anxiety rolling off of the group in waves.

"Yes." Jake Bolton answered, his right hand wrapping around his wife's, his left finding Miss. Montez's. No matter what happened, every single one of them was in this together.

"When Troy arrived," the doctor began, his stormy gray eyes hunkering down for a long explanation. "He had lost a lot of blood, most of it coming from the deep gash in his right thigh. We gave him a blood transfusion and once we got the bleeding under control, he stabilized reasonable fast." The doctor's body language was almost positive, "Besides some nasty looking scars, he's going to be fine."

Chad exhaled and the anxiety in the room lessened. He felt everyone behind his relax, but he looked to the doctor, the explanation was only half over. The moment he found the doctor, his relieved smile dropped. The aged man had **that** look. Like a veterinarian who was about to tell a little girl that her dog had passed away, Chad hated **that** look. The dread was building up in his stomach, and Taylor's hand found his. He knew she had noticed.

"When Gabriella arrived she was in a more critical state." the Doctor paused, his eyes softening, "she had already flat lined for two minutes before the paramedics were able to bring her back. She was already going into exsanguination, which basically means she was bleeding out. We couldn't stop the blood flow and she had already lost so much before she arrived. We took the chance and went into surgury before stabalizing her, its was the only way we could save her." The doctor paused as the waiting room fell silent, "She got out of surgery about an hour ago, we **finally** managed to get the bleeding under control and tie up the wounds, but…"

"But?" Taylor asked, her voice just above a whisper.

The doctor clasped his hands in front of him, "She's slipped into a coma," Chad watched as the doctors jaw clenched, and he understood that the older man hated failing. The doctor's stormy gray eyes burned with disappointment in himself as he continued through the quest sobs from the group. "And I have no idea if she's going to regain conciseness."

Chad's body went numb, one thought crossing his mind.

How the hell was he going to explain this to Troy?

**.-.-.- Insert Depressing Music -.-.-.**

**(Review! I know it kinda sucked. Sorry.)**


	8. To Believe Or Not To Believe

A/N: Poems not mine. It's half of "if" by Rudyard Kipling. I normally don't like poems, but this one I fell in love with._

* * *

_

_LAST TIME-_

_The doctor clasped his hands in front of him, "She's slipped into a coma," Chad watched as the doctors clenched his jaw, and he understood that the older man hated failing. The doctor's stormy gray eyes burned with disappointment in himself as he continued through the quest sobs from the group. "And I have no idea if she's going to regain conciseness."_

_Chad's body went numb, one thought crossing his mind._

_How the hell was he going to explain this to Troy?_

* * *

If you can make one heap of all your winnings  
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,  
And lose, and start again at your beginnings  
And never breath a word about your loss;  
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew  
To serve your turn long after they are gone,  
And so hold on when there is nothing in you  
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on".

* * *

It was possibly the weirdest and scariest feeling that had ever possessed him. He was so tired and yet, he had this overwhelming drive to wake up. But was he really asleep? His perception was off; but he could hear a continuous, high pitched, annoying beep in the distance. 

_Gabriella._

He shifted, trying to get more comfortable, and suddenly he felt as if every fiber of his being was soaked with torment and anguish. Every molecule vibrated against the next, ripping and tearing so there was not one single millimeter of his form that wasn't spasming with a pain so deep he wished he could float off into oblivion. He thought he had felt pain before this moment. He thought he knew what pain was, but he had been wrong. The feeling was so beyond description that he thought he would go mad with the writhing. As he ripped his eyes open, he thought of only one thing and his heart broke into a million pieces. He remembered.

_Gabriella. He had to make sure._

He shot up, ripping the breathing mask off his face as his frantic blue eyes looked around the empty hospital room, the past of Gabriella flat lining ringing in his mind. He squinted, the bright white light threatening to burn right through his retinas. Liquid ice ran down his throat, threatening to suffocate him. He took controlled breaths, getting his heart under control as he tried to calm himself. He fought the strong urge to put the breathing mask over his mouth and lie back down. He was so tired.

_Gabriella. He had to find her._

He ripped the IV out of his arm, wincing, and then swung his legs over the side of the uncomfortable bed. Fire spread across his chest, making his eyes water, but he ignored it. He looked down and rolled his eyes. He hated hospitals. His body shivered through the paper thin gown as his bare feet touched the cold floor. He was vaguely aware of the out of control beeping the EKG monitor was making, like it was almost screaming at him to lie back down.

_Gabriella. He had to see her._

He took one step forward and his right leg collapsed on him, making him fall to his hand and knees. A wildfire spread across his right thigh and his eyes watered as he cried out. He clamped his mouth shut, and did the only thigh his body would allow. He crawled, his arms pulling his uncooperative lower half across the stark white floor.

_Gabriella. He had to know that she was all right._

The hospital door burst open, and he looked up to find the frantic eyes of a small nurse. She swiftly walked in crouching by his side as another body filled the doorway. Troy saw Chad's curly brown hair through his tears.

"Mr. Bolton!" the nurse was yelling at him, but he wasn't paying attention. There was something wrong. Chad didn't look happy to see him; there was something in his dark friends eyes that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"…Gabriella…" he croaked, the look on Chad's face making panic rise up from inside.

"You have to stay still Mr. Bolton," she was grabbing him under the arms, trying to lift him up. "You're going to rip your stitches."

Chad walked forward, taking Troy under the arms as the nurse back away. "…I'm so sorry…" It was a whisper that made Troy freeze.

"…no…" he denied as Chad helped him back to the bed. He unwillingly lay back down, taking a deep breath as he stared at Chad. Why was he not looking at him? "Chad, what are you saying?"

Chad turned his head away, his eyes locking with the small nurses. She nodded her head slightly, her eyes turning soft. "I'll leave you two alone."

"Thank you." Chad gave her a small smile and watched as she exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Where is she, Chad?" his voice was strong, but fear was building up in his stomach. He had recognized the emotion on Chad's face. Loss. His friend's shoulders were slumped, dark circles under his eyes. Troy could tell he hadn't slept in hours, maybe even days.

"You have to stay calm," his best friend sat in the chair next to the bed, his hand fidgeting in front of him. He was staring at the floor, avoiding Troy's eyes.

"Chad, look at me." his blue eyes were trained on his friends. If he was forced to stay in bed, he had to be told. He had to be told that she was fine. "Chad. Where. Is. She?"

"She's in a coma, Troy." It was said so soft and so fast that Troy thought he hadn't heard correctly. But when Chad looked up, Troy's throat closed. His friend's eyes were bloodshot, like he had been crying for hours and hours. Troy's mouth fell open, uncontrolled tears slipping form the corners of his wide eyes.

"What?" he stammered. His mind went blank, his memories recalling the last time he had seen her. The horrific moment played over and over in his head. The blood, her blood, that was everywhere on the cabin wall and floor. Her small reassurances that she was going to be fine. Her promise of not leaving him. Then her beautiful, dark brown eyes rolling back into her head. And the long, unchanging note of the flat line.

"She flat lined for two minutes Troy," Chad spoke, tears in his voice. "Two minutes without her brain having proper oxygen supply. And she just lost too much blood. Her body couldn't handle the stress, so it just shut down, pulling her into a coma."

"No," Troy went to get up, his eyes watering. He couldn't accept, wouldn't accept it. "I have to see her."

Chad's hands were pushing him lightly on the shoulders. "You have to stay in bed." Troy went to protest, but his friend continued. "Just because she's in a coma, that doesn't mean she's not ever going to wake back up."

"I have to see her. I have to help her somehow." He clenched his blue eyes shut, biting back his sobs. How could this be happening to him? She didn't deserve this.

He pushed Chad's hands off his shoulders and swung his legs over the side of the bed. This time, however; the pain in his legs didn't stop him. The limbs just turned to water and he fell to his knees.

He clenched his hands into fists on the cold floor and screamed, roared, anything to get out the bottled up emotion. He tried anything to make the pain go away. A choked sob escaped his lips as tears streamed down his face. His chest heaved with another sob drenched with anguish. His heart was ripping itself in half as he wept.

Chad's strong hands found his shoulders, but this time his friend didn't move to lift him up. He felt Chad's body shake, and Troy realized he was crying to. Troy wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulders, and they cried together on the floor of the hospital.

"You have to believe that she'll wake up," Chad said through his tears. "You have to know deep down that she'll be ok."

"Chad. She's in a coma," he hated saying the word, it felt like poison in his mouth.

"She's strong Troy," Chad answered pulling back. "She's the strongest girl I know. She's going to get through this. There isn't a hundred percent chance that she won't wake up, so she'll pull through. "

He took a deep breath, wiping the tears from his blue eyes. He realized that through the pain, through the tears, Chad was right. He **had** to believe that she was going to pull through. She didn't give up on him. She had put her life in his hands when she had asked him to leave her. She had put all of her faith in him. He knew that he had to have faith in her.

He was done giving up hope. He was done being beaten down by grief. If he believed that Gabriella Montez would wake up, he knew she wouldn't let him down.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was hours after Troy had woken up. Hours after he had learned that Gabriella was in a coma. Hours after he had regained his hope that she would pull through.

"So," he was trying to make his voice sound controlled. "How long was I out? How long ago did all….this…happen?"

"You were asleep for three days." Chad answered, his arms crossed over his chest.

Troy leaned forward, "Three days?" He asked wide-eyed. It hadn't felt like three days. He tried to remember what it had felt like, being asleep, but not wanting to be asleep. The only feeling he could recall was the strongest sense of loneliness. Hi heart clenched as he though of Gabriella, stuck in an impenetrable darkness, alone.

"You look like you just went ten rounds with Mike Tyson," His father's voice joked lightly from the open doorway, though Troy could see the concern and sadness in the older man's eyes.

"You should see the other guy," Troy mumbled, making Chad smile.

"Chad, could I get a couple minutes alone?" Jack Bolton took a slow step into the room, his hand fidgeting in front of him.

"Sure coach," Chad answered placing a hand on Troy's shoulder as he stood. "You hang in there. She's going to pull through."

Troy gave a small smile. "I will. And Chad," the dark boy turned, "Thanks."

"What's a friend for," He smiled, nodding his head slightly as he exited the hospital room. Troy's father shit the door quietly, walking towards the now unoccupied chair.

"How are you?" he asked as he sat down, his eyes hesitantly looking up.

"Everything hurts," Troy confessed and he watched his father eyes searched the floor. "But it's getting better. I just need to get out of this bed and this stupid gown."

"I'm sorry." His father apologized and Troy almost sighed in annoyance. Why the hell was everyone apologizing? Ethan Montez kidnapping him and Gabriella hadn't been anyone's fault but the demented fathers.

"You don't have to apolo---" his father looked up to him, cutting him off.

"About Gabriella." Troy froze, the color draining form his face. He was starting to miss Chad and his friend's reassurance. His father wasn't confident; Troy could hear it from the tone in his voice. His father had already given up hope and the fact of Gabriella not waking up was that much closer.

"She's going to pull through," Troy tried to give his father hope. By reassuring someone else, his confidence also grew.

"I hate seeing you hurt like this," his father's eyes were downcast again. "Even though you assure everyone you're fine. Even though you assure yourself you're fine. I can tell you're not. Your heart is breaking and I won't be able to live with myself if you suffer every day of your life because she doesn't wake up."

"Dad, you cant tell me not to believe," he let a little frustration slip in his voice. He had to show his father what he was saying. "I love her. I can't see my life going anywhere without her. So, she **will** wake up."

"You have to understand where I'm coming from, Troy." His father was defending himself, but Troy listened. "To think that you have found your one true love at such a young age. You cant blame me for being…" his father searched for the right word, "…skeptical. I mean, I didn't find your mother until I graduated collage and was out on my own. Most people don't find love until they've lived their lives a little."

"Then you don't understand. When she kisses me," he gave his father a sheepish smile, "It's like the whole world stops turning and all I can see is her face."

"Son," his father gripped his shoulder tightly, "You might have to accept the fact that she won't wake up."

"How can I," his voice was controlled, his blue eyes downcast, almost like he was contemplating the possibility. "When the littlest things remind me of her. Being in her arms made me feel like nothing else in the whole world existed or mattered."

"I'm not saying it's going to happen," his father's voice was laced with sympathy. "I just need you to know that it could be a possibility."

"I can't accept that, Dad," he was shaking his head. "She promised she wouldn't leave me."

"Troy," his father's voice was soft. "People make promises everyday that they can't keep. Sometimes it's just out of their hands."

"Then I don't know how I'm going to survive with this mental madness," he saw his fathers confused eyes and explained. "I feel like I'm losing my mind because all I can think about is the way she smelled, how good it felt when she put her arm around me, or the cute little dimples that showed when she smiled," Troy paused, shaking his head, "I can't accept that all that is gone."

A small smile grew on his fathers face, "I hadn't realized."

Troy shifted uncomfortable, his blue eyes confused, "realized what?"

"That you're completely head-over-heals in love with her," Troy's cheeks burned red as his fathers smile grew.

"She's my world," the teen confessed in a whisper. He felt content that his father knew his feelings. Maybe now Jack Bolton could understand why Troy had to have hope.

"Then I have to apologize," he looked up to find his fathers face. "I thought she would distract you from your goals, your career in basketball." He shrugged his shoulders. "I thought she was just another girl."

"She wasn't distracting me at all." Troy stated. "And she's not just another girl."

"I know that now," his father gave an apologetic smile. "If anything, she was making you stronger and I can't believe I hadn't seen it before. I could tell when you two drifted farther apart. Your game dropped, along with your happiness. It was in that moment that I realized you would not succeed without her. Not that you weren't capable physically, but mentally, you couldn't live without her."

"The you understand why I have to believe she's going to wake up." His eyes locked with his fathers. He was glad that he had finally gotten his father on his side. The two hadn't always agreed, and Gabriella had complicated matters a little. He was relieved now that his father knew what he felt.

"I just had to make sure." his father scooted to the edge of the chair. "I had to make sure that you weren't getting bent out of shape for just another girl. I understand now," his father leaned forward taking his hand in his. "I know that she'll wake up, because I know she wouldn't dream of leaving you here alone."

He wrapped his arms around his fathers shoulder, "I'm glad that you understand now."

Jack Bolton pulled back, "I talked to your doctor today. He said you could go home tomorrow. You're healing fine and you're going to have to walk on crutches for another two weeks, but you can at least go home."

"I can leave?" Troy asked with a smile, heaving out a relieved sigh.

"Yes," his father gave him a small smile. "Or you could stay and go see her." Troy's smile turned weak, but he nodded his head as his father turned to leave.

Now that he was so close to freedom, seeing Gabriella was starting to scare him. Don't get him wrong, seeing her was the thing he wanted most in that moment. But it was so easy to think that she would wake up from the safety of his hospital room.

If he actually laid eyes on her unconscious form, with all the bandages he knew she would have wrapped around her, his confidence would most likely crash. He could pretend all he wanted that she was fine, that she was just sleeping. But in actuality, seeing her weak, frail and vulnerable would be his downfall.

To put it simple, Troy was afraid of his reality. He had the tiniest bit of fear budding in the bottom of his stomach and it was telling his that she **wasn't** going to wake up.

**.-.-.- Insert Some Kind Of Music -.-.-.**

(Review! And I hope you all understand the conflicting emotions Troy's feeling. If you don't, I'll explain it better next chapter.)


	9. I Need You

_LAST TIME-_

_Now that he was so close to freedom, seeing Gabriella was starting to scare him. Don't get him wrong, seeing her was the thing he wanted most in that moment. But it was so easy to think that she would wake up from the safety of his hospital room._

_If he actually laid eyes on her unconscious form, with all the bandages he knew she would have wrapped around her, his confidence would most likely crash. He could pretend all he wanted that she was fine, that she was just sleeping. But in actuality, seeing her weak, frail and vulnerable would be his downfall._

_To put it simple, Troy was afraid of his reality. He had the tiniest bit of fear budding in the bottom of his stomach and it was telling his that she __**wasn't**__ going to wake up._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

It was a statement that defined who he was: Troy Bolton hated hospitals. But even hours after he was cleared to go home, he still waited in the place that held his fear. He was no longer feeling hate as he sat in a chair outside of Gabriella's hospital bedroom, but the strongest of many emotions. He contemplated them as he waited, his hand rubbing against the rough new scar on his right cheek.

* * *

**Fear The Five**

**1. Denial.**

It was a typical first feeling because it automatically brought him false hope. Troy had succeeded in denying the events of three days ago only for about an hour, enough for the pain medications he had taken earlier to ware off. It was only when the deep wound in his thigh and the slash across his chest started to ache that he fully accepted his predicament. His eyes would find her hospital room door, his mind finally accepting the fact that a beaten and barley living Gabriella lay on the other side. Denying his current situation, he figured, would only lead him deeper into the out-of-control spiral he was currently circling.

**2. Frustration.**

How could people expect him to be calm when his girlfriend might never wake up? It was the one question that made his fists clench, his knuckles white as his nails dug into his palms. It was killing him that the only thing he could do to help her was sit and wait, because in his eyes, that was doing absolutely nothing. He was the playmaker, what he said was the law. But his frustration was leading him into unfamiliar territory, making him second-guess his authority. He couldn't control life, he knew that, but how was punishing Gabriella, the most innocent girl in the world, anywhere close to being fair? **That** question, was the fuel of his frustration.

**3. Anger.**

Troy realized, as he sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair, that Ethan Montez had almost succeeded in taking away everything that had made his life worthwhile. The butterflies Troy would feel every time he saw her were gone and he wasn't sure if he was ever going to feel them again. He had been stripped of being the luckiest man in the world; it was currently no longer his title, just sitting and waiting assured him of that. Her father had almost extinguished everything her presence had brought, every feeling that Troy felt towards her had been jeopardized. Ethan Montez was the firewood to his fire, the source of his anger, fury, rage and wrath. If Gabriella Montez never gave him her signature smile ever again, his anger would consume him…and his friends would bare witness to the creation of a whole new Troy Bolton.

**4. Misery.**

It was a feeling he was currently up to his neck in. He recalled how the initial intake of breath had gotten stuck in his throat when he had been told that Gabriella might not wake up. Then began the tightening of his chest, which in turn prevented revitalizing air to pass through his system. He had collapsed to his knees, his hands running over his face. A strong sensation of drowning triggered the deepest panic that had ever possessed him. Desperately he tried to breath, tried to get the dull throbbing pain in his head to stop. It was then that he realized something; if Gabriella Montez never woke up…misery would be his company for a **very** long time.

**5. Fear.**

It consumed his dreams whenever he shut his eyes, even if the moment was only for a second. Because the fact of the matter was, what if she didn't wake up? What if he was never going to see her dark chocolate eyes again? Her innocent smile? It was a fear that dwelled in the pit of his stomach, reaching up every so often to encircle itself around his heart. Most importantly, the fear was giving him doubts. He questioned everyone who told him she was going to be fine, because how did they know that? Troy was afraid that if he believed, if he assumed that she would be ok, that it would only condemn her to an unbearable fate. Troy Bolton was afraid he was going to lose Gabriella Montez……Forever.

* * *

"Troy," his blues eyes shot up at the sound of his best friends soothing voice, "you have to calm down." 

"I'm in pieces Chad," Troy put his face in his hands, the rough gauze wrapped around his left forearm rubbing against his face. "Who you see right now, this image, its just scattered pieces without her. I feel like I'm being ripped in all different directions because she's not here to keep me together. She's the only one who can keep me whole; she's the only one Chad."

"Troy," his hands went to Troy's shoulders as he knelt in front of his friend, "She's going to be okay."

"How do you know that?" his blue eyes looked up from his hands, "I don't know how long I'll be able to last feeling like this. It just hurts, ever since I woke up its done nothing but hurt." he placed a hand over his heart, clenching the fabric of his t-shirt, "God, my heart."

"I'm not going to pretended like I know what you're going through, because I don't," Chad grip tightened on Troy's shoulders, "the only thing I can tell you is," Chad's arms wrapped around his friend, "You have to have faith. Because if you don't, how are we?"

"I'll try," he whispered into his friend's curly hair.

"That's all I ask," Chad said pulling away. "I can't stand you feeling guilty for what happened."

"I don't feel guilty," Troy denied more out of surprise than defense. How could Chad know that he felt guilty?

"Dude, I'm not stupid," Chad gave him a sidelong glance. "We've been like brothers since preschool. I can see it in your eyes."

Troy gave a sad smile; he couldn't hide anything from Chad. Either it was that or he was so blatantly obvious with his feeling that anyone could tell he was coming apart. Troy hand never felt like this before. Having no motivation to do anything except site outside her hospital room and wait. Truth be told, he hadn't actually gone in to see her, doing that, he convinced himself, would be his downfall. Chad must have seen the hesitation in his blue eyes, because his friend's voice was laced with sympathy.

"You haven't seen her since you woke up. Since you got cleared to go home." his voice was low. "Be with her now, it'll make both of you stronger."

"I'm afraid of seeing her vulnerable, because if she's vulnerable, there's a chance she might not wake up." He confessed, his eyes fixed on her hospital door. The room scared him, "As long as I'm out here, I can picture her being fine in my mind."

"You can't outrun reality," Chad's voice was pained. "No matter what condition you see her in; she's still **your** Gabriella."

"I know," he took a deep breath, his eyes still fixed on the door.

"Troy," Chad's strong hand was on his shoulder again, "She's completely alone in there. She needs you now more than ever."

He took a deep breath, his blue eyes closing, "Ok."

He stood, taking the two steps to the hospital room door. It was something he hadn't been able to do in hours, and standing in front of the room that held Gabriella's fate scared him to death. He now realized why he had been so tired waiting, the room had been draining his energy for the past four hours. He reached out hesitantly, taking a sharp intake of breath as his hand wrapped around the aluminum of the doorknob. The cold of the metal crawled up his forearm, spreading itself across his chest, almost as if the room itself wanted his soul. He shook the feelings away, biting back his fear as he turned the knob and entered.

The beeping was the first thing that penetrated his mind and his eyes automatically went to her EKG monitor. He took five steps into the room and froze. His eyes had found what his mind had been trying to deny, Gabriella's unconscious form in the hospital bed. He fought the strong urge to turn back around and walk out, but instead of walking out, he walked forward.

He was done leaving her.

An IV was stuck in her arm; a bag of dark red blood hanging next to it and a breathing mask covered her face. His blue eyes caught the gauzed wrapped around her should, showing just above the collar of her stark white hospital gown. He slumped into the chair on the left side of her bed, the window across from his showing the setting sun. His hand quickly and unconsciously reached for hers. He took a deep breath as he intertwined his fingers with hers, the first smile he had shown in days forming on his face.

Besides the steady beat of her heart, Gabriella looked as if she were only sleeping. But he knew she was in danger. Like he knew that there was a reasonable sized hole in her shoulder and a smaller one in her lower back. He didn't dwell on the thought, his eyes locked with her passive face.

It was in that moment that Troy Bolton confessed everything.

"I thought I could get through this on my own if I just kept telling myself to be strong. That if my strength grew, yours would too," he clasped her hand tightly, his face dropping down to face the floor, "I hadn't realized that you were **my** strength all along. You were what had kept me going. Why I wake up in the morning, why I tolerate school, it's all because of you. But without you, I now realize how much I've lost, how much of my life means absolutely nothing without you."

"You make sense of who I am Gabriella. You're the only person who knows who I really am, you're the only one who ever will," he gave a sad smile, his mind thinking back. "The first time we met, you remember? You said when we sang together that I wasn't the basketball guy, the playmaker, or the popular guy. You said that I was just a guy. But you were wrong. I wasn't just a guy to you; I know that now because you weren't just a girl to me."

"It's funny," he set his elbow on the side of the bed, taking her hand in both of his, "that you can go through life smiling and laughing, believing that your living it to the fullest, but it's not until you stand with someone different, yet so similar to you, that you get this overwhelming sense of belonging. You can't really expect it, because life isn't predictable, but when you stand in each others presence, your heart starts going and you get this feeling that I can't explain," he paused and smiled. "Like nothing else matters but the moment."

"Whenever I was around you, I felt like that. Felt like I belonged, like being with you was, **is**, my purpose in life. And I didn't understand it at first, because I was popular, and I thought that's all I needed to make life great, to make high school bearable. But I was wrong; because I didn't need anything or anyone else but you to make my life complete."

"And its kind of cliché, because I've seen it so many times before, and yet I still hadn't realized," he paused, his eyes shifting to her EKG monitor as he held back tears. "That the most important person in your life is usually the one right in front of you, and it's not until that person is no longer around that you realize their significance. When you can't see their smiling face or hear their uplifting laugh that you realize just how much you've lost." He gave up holding the tears in and let them fall, "That you don't realize what you have until it's threatening to be gone."

He took a deep breath, his eyes closing, "What I'm trying to say is, I love you. I can't picture my life without you. So that means I can't do this on my own. I've tried so hard to make this pain go away, but I'm coming to you in pieces, and you're the only one who can make me whole. You can't leave me here alone."

"**I need you."**

He waited, his hand tightening dangerously around hers. He would give anything to see her chocolate eyes in that moment. Anything for her to smile and laugh and just open her eyes, telling him she was going to be ok. He let his head drop to the floor, wishing that his life was a movie. That it was written in the scrip that she would open her eyes at the perfect moment, that she would assure him that she would be fine. He was brought back to his miserable life when someone knocked on the hospital room door.

"Can I come in?" Troy's head jerked up as the door opened. Sharpay gave him a sheepish smile as she entered. He sniffed; his hands moving up to wipe the tears from his face.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat, "Come on in."

She walked forward, but it wasn't the confident walk he was so used to. He cocked his head to the side slightly. She was fidgeting with her hands, her walk hesitant as she kept her gazer on the ground. He could tell she was deep in thought about something, and the thoughts were bothering her.

"Anything?" her voice was soft as she asked the question, her blue eyes trained on Gabriella's passive face.

"Nothing," Troy stated, shaking his head.

An awkward silence settled over the small hospital room.

Sharpay cleared her throat before Troy could break the silence, and then informed him randomly, "I got accepted to the London Centre of Contemporary Music in England."

Troy was surprised at the information, "What?" he stammered, then continued, "I didn't know you applied there." She nodded her head slightly. "When do you leave?"

"A month," she answered, her eyes shifting down to her fidgeting hands.

"Graduations in two weeks," he stated, surprised.

"I know," she answered turning her head to look out the window.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" he asked.

"I have to get a few things in order over there," she answered her eyes looking up to his face. "Like an apartment. I'm also going to need a car."

"England," he mused, "That's really far away Sharpay."

She gave a small laugh, "Yeah, but I figure that I've done so much damage here that I should start over," she paused and found Troy's confused face. "I've tried to ruin so many good lives here."

"Sharpay, what, you didn't," Troy tried to change her thinking.

She laughed again, "You don't have to be nice Troy, because I certainly haven't," he went to argue, but she stopped him, jogging his memory. "The winter musical. Your summer job. I actually did succeed in breaking you guys up, but like always, you found each other again." Troy shut his mouth and turned back to Gabriella. "What you and Gabriella share, Troy, only comes around once in a lifetime. It was foolish of me to try and keep you two from happiness just because I couldn't find my own."

He gave her a sad smile. The statement, however; only made his heart shatter into more pieces. It reminded him of all the moments he and Gabriella had shared together.

_**FLASH**_

_New Years_

_He took a deep breath, staring into her dark chocolate eyes. He then smiled, sticking out a hand, "Troy."_

_The smile she gave him made his heart beat faster and his cheeks burn red. He almost melted when her hand grasped tightly around his, "Gabriella."_

_**FLASH**_

_First Period, East High_

_He waited after first period, his foot pressed back against the wall. Chad exited, passing him, the Jason. His heart stopped as he saw her. He pushed himself off the wall, nearly sprinting to her form._

"_Hey," he grabbed her arm delicately, almost melting at the feel of her under his hand._

"_I don't," she was smiling, her eyes bright._

"_Believe it," he finished for her._

"_Well me," she was still smiling._

"_Either," he finished for her again, then asked "But how?"_

"_Well, my moms company transferred her here to Albuquerque." she paused and smile, the dimple in her cheeks showing, "I can't believe you live here. I looked for you at the lodge on New Years Day."_

"_I know," he whispered, pushing her arm slightly as they started to walk, "we had to leave first thing."_

"_Why are you whispering?" she asked him with a smile, eyebrows raised._

"_What?" he whispered, then straightened, clearing his throat, "Oh, well, my friends know about the snowboarding," he paused again, leaning closer to her as his voice lowered, "umm, I haven't quite told them about the singing thing."_

"_To much for them to handle?" she asked jokingly turning to smile at him._

"_O, no, it was cool," he smiled, inclining his head to her. "But you know my friends, its ahh, not what I do," he paused. "That was like, a different person." He went to continue but Gabriella cut him off, walking to his left towards another hallway._

_He smiled before following her. It was going to be an interesting year._

_**FLASH**_

_Roof, East High_

"_I saw the way you treated Kelsi at the auditions," she stated, walking behind him and towards the bench, "Do your friends know __**that**__ guy?"_

_He gave a hopeless laugh, "To them I'm the playmaker dude."_

"_Then they don't know enough about you, Troy," her voice was soft as she sat down on a bench. "At my other schools, I was the freaky math girl. It's cool coming her and being," she paused, shrugged her shoulders and smiling, "Anyone I want to be." The smile tuned innocent as her eyes brightened, "When I was singing with you, I just felt like, a girl."_

_He turned to her, a small smile crawling on his face. He pointed to her, "You even looked like one to."_

_She laughed and he sat down next to her on the bench._

"_Do you remember in kindergarten," she asked, turning to him, "How you'd meet a kid and know nothing about them, then ten seconds later you're playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anything but yourself."_

"_Yeah," he agreed._

"_Singing with you felt like that," she confessed, still smiling._

_He smiled too, then following her, confessed. "Well, I never thought about singing, that's for sure," he paused biting his lip, "Or you."_

"_So you really want to do the callbacks?" she asked blushing._

"_Hey," he licked his lips and clapped his hands. "Just call me freaky callback boy."_

_Her laugh made his insides melt, and she gave him the smile he could stare at for hours, "You're a cool guy Troy," she paused and shook her head. "But not for the reasons your friends think, and thanks for showing me your top secret hiding place," she smiled again and he turned to her, "Like kindergarten."_

_The bell rang and they both gave exhausted sighs. He grabbed her hand unconsciously, leading eh down the stairs of the roof and back to reality._

**_FLASH_**

_Gym, East High_

_The basketball was rough in his hands. He exhaled and shot, hearing the swish of the net moments after._

"_Wow," her voice broke through his thoughts over the bouncing of the ball. He turned and smiled as she opened her arms wide, "So this is your real stage."_

_He gave a small laugh, "Yeah. I guess you could call it that." She motioned with her hand that she wanted the ball and he gave it to her, "Or it's a smelly gym."_

_He watched as she lined up, smiling as she bit on her tongue in concentration. She bounced the ball once, catching it, and then shot._

"_Whoa," he smiled as the clean swoosh sounded in the gym, "Don't tell me you're good at hoops too."_

_She went and picked up the ball, then turned to face him, "you know, I once scored 41 points in a league championship game." She cocked her head, waiting for his response._

"_No way," he stated shocked, placing his hands on his hips._

"_Yep," her arms tightening around the basketball. "And In the same day I invented the space shuttle __**and**__ microwave popcorn." She smiled, when he rolled his eyes and looked away._

"_Microwave popcorn," he gave a fake laugh, reaching for the basketball, "very funny."_

_He took another shot as she spoke, "I've been rehearsing with Kelsi."_

"_Me too, and um," he looked at her, holding the basketball under his arm, his voice turning serious, "By the way, I missed practice, so if I get kicked off the team it should be on your conscious." He went to shoot again._

_Her head cocked backwards and she sent a hand to her chest, trying to defend herself, "Hey, I wasn't the one who told you----."_

_He canceled his shot, holding the basketball in his right hand as he tilted his head to the side, a smile on his face, "Gabriella, chill."_

_She sighed, realizing he was kidding. She let her shoulders drop as she lunged for the basketball. She grabbed it and faked right, scooting backward and away from him._

"_Hey, that's traveling," he pointed out as he perused her, "No, that's really bad traveling."_

_He hooked his arms around her waist as she let out a small squeak. He lifted her up and off the gym floor, spinning her around as she laughed. She was light in his arms and he couldn't help but smile._

**_FLASH_**

_Backyard, Gabriella's House_

_He had to redeem himself, so he reached for his razor, flipped it open and held it to his ear. _

"_Hello?" her voice was soft, hurt. And it killed him that he was the cause of her pain._

"_What you heard the other day, none of that is true. I was sick of my friends riding me about singing with you so I said things I knew would shut them up," he was out of breath, but he had to convince her, he had to get her back, "I didn't mean any of it."_

"_You sounded pretty convincing to me," his eyes shot up as the light in her room turned on._

_He made his way towards a tall tree, the branches shooting up to end right at over the balcony. He hesitated for only a second, "Listen, the guy you met on vacation is way more me than the guy who said those stupid things."_

"_Troy the whole singing thing is making the school whack," she argued, "you said so yourself, everyone's treating you differently because of it."_

"_Maybe, that's because I don't want to only be the basketball guy anymore. They can't handle it, that's not my problem, its there's." It was really difficult scaling a tree while having a conversation, but he knew he had to pull it off._

"_But your dad," she pointed out, her voice giving up hope._

"_And its not about my dad," he argued, a branch slapping him in the face, "This is about how I feel, and I'm not letting the team down, they let me down," his voice turned confident, "So I'm going to sing, what about you?"_

"_I don't know Troy," her voice wasn't confident like he was used to hearing._

"_Well, you need to say yes," he paused, sighing mentally as he made it over the balcony boarder, "Because I brought you something."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Turn around," he kept his face passive as she turned. He dropped the cell phone from his ear as she made her way towards him. He took a deep breath as she opened the glass door._

"_This could be the start of something new," he sang, "It feels so right to be here with you, ohhh," he continued as she gave him the smallest of smiles, "And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heaaaart, the start of something…new." He spoke the last word as her eyes threatened to water._

"_It's a pairs audition," he held up the sheet music, holding his breath as she smiled and nodded her head, stepping closer to him and onto the balcony. She took the music from his hand and walked past. He let out a breath and turned to follow, his eyes locking with hers. She was back and he could finally start living again._

**_END_**

"She's going to be ok." Sharpay close voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"How can you be so sure," he asked his voice soft. "When I don't even know myself." The next thing he knew, Sharpay's hand was wrapped tightly around his and she was kneeling next to him.

"She's going to be ok," Sharpay paused as he looked up into her eyes, her voice strong. "Because Gabriella knows what she has here, she knows how much she means to you, and she's not going to leave you."

He gave her a questioning look and she stood up, "I overheard you talking to her before I came in," she confessed and gave an apologetic smile, then asked, "Was it true?"

He looked to her, and then whispered, "Every word."

"Then I envy you Troy Bolton," the statement surprised him, "because you've found the one thing I haven't," she paused, a smile forming on her face, "True Love."

Troy's hand unconsciously tightened around Gabriella's, a small smile forming on his face. True Love, he hadn't really thought about calling it that.

"That's why I'm going so far away," the blond drew back his attention, "I want to find **it** Troy, and though I hate to admit it, you apparently aren't my type, because I've never felt that way around you. I love you as a friend, don't get me wrong, but you're already taken." she gave a sad laugh. "I have to get away, start over and get a clean slate."

He gave her a surprised smile as he contemplated the current conversation. Sharpay Evens was no longer the Ice Queen. She was a friend. A good friend.

"I've spent so much time ruining lives," she paused, her eyes staring at the floor as she thought back on the past. "That I figured I should finally complete one, you know?"

"Sharpay," he tried to think of words, but couldn't. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, I'm just glad you listened," as she turned to go, it hit him. Sharpay Evens was saying goodbye and after all she had done to him, he didn't want her to leave. It was the first time in three hours that he let go of Gabriella's hand as he stood up. Sharpay turned as she heard him get up, but wasn't prepared when Troy wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't want you to go," he whispered into her shoulder. It was the truth. Now that one of his friends was leaving, being alone was coming extremely to close, "It seems like I'm loosing everyone."

"You aren't loosing me and you aren't loosing her," he could hear the reassurance in her voice, "I'll come back, its only collage, and she'll wake up soon."

"But how----." She cut him off as she pulled away.

"Don't start that again, Troy," she gave him a sidelong glance, "You have to have faith." She gave him a little push back towards his chair.

"Everyone's been telling me that," he grumbled as he plopped down into the uncomfortable chair.

"You should be listening to them," she tilted her head, one eyebrow rising as she smiled, "A person like this only comes to you once in a lifetime; you need to hold on and protect her."

"But that's just it, I didn't protect her," he shut his eyes, recalling the feeling of leaving her to rot in that damn basement. How his heart had torn in half when he had seen her still body. He hadn't protected her.

"Troy," Sharpay's voice was almost angry. "She's here, not stuck in some secluded cabin in the woods bleeding to death with her son of a bitch father," she spoke stronger as she walked towards him again, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder. "**You** brought her back. **You** didn't give up on her. **You** saved her," he went to argue, but she put up a hand, "**You** protected her."

"How is this," he stood from his chair, his arms opening wide, "protecting her?"

"Would you rather her be down there?" the blond pointed straight down to the ground.

"No," he replied sitting back down.

"You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened," he could hear the aggravation in her voice. "You didn't leave her."

"Yes I did," he whispered.

"Don't be silly." she was getting impatient. "You didn't leave her."

"YES I DID!" he bellowed, his voice cracking. She backed away and gave him a questioning look. He just shut his blue eyes, standing and turned away.

"Troy," she was hesitant, "What are you talking about?"

"I left her Sharpay!" his voice cracked again. "When we were in the basement, she was hurt. She told me to get away, so I left her."

"You left to get help," she was fighting a loosing battle.

"But I still left her!" he wasn't seeing reason. "And when I came back, like I promised I would, she was so…looked so…" he was shaking his head, the memories hurting to much. "There was blood everywhere, God; I really thought she was dead. The way she was just staring off into nothingness." He was crying, he was crying in front of her.

To say that Sharpay Evans was out of her element would be an understatement. She had no idea how to handle the current situation. So, she did the only thing she thought would help. She walked forward and wrapped her arms around the shaking body. She was surprised when he hugged her back, tightly. Troy was sobbing into her shoulder; she could feel the tears soaking her cloths.

"Breath, breath," she patted and rubbed his back awkwardly. She had to get him to calm down. "Troy, it's not your fault."

"How is it not?" she could barley understand the words.

"What happened three days ago was completely out of your control," she paused as he took a deep breath, "Gabriella owes you her life."

"She doesn't owe me anything," his hands went to wipe away the last of his tears. He was finally getting a hold of himself.

"How can you feel so guilty, yet not accept the fact that you saved her life?" Sharpay's eyebrows were raised.

"Because her life wouldn't have been in danger if I hadn't---," she cut him off, her voice turning annoyed.

"Don't you dare say you put her in danger," she took a controlling breath, lowering her finger from in front of his face. "Her father was the one that put **both** of your lives in danger."

"I didn't get her out of there unhurt," he whispered.

"You got her out of there **alive**," Sharpay countered as she dragged him to sit back in the chair. Her right hand wrapped around Gabriella's while her left moved Troy's forward. "I really don't think this whole breakdown is because you're mad at yourself for leaving," she paused as her amber eyes locked with his blue ones, "You're scared that she won't forgive you for leaving."

His eyes were downcast when he answered, "…yes…"

"Then I say you're stupid, Troy," she didn't bother to hide the anger in her voice as she stood up and walked away from him.

"What the hells that supposed to mean!" he was standing as well, and Sharpay smiled. At least the old Troy was back.

"What I meant to say," Sharpay corrected herself, taking a deep breath, "was that I think you know the answer and you just can't understand why."

"What?" he looked at her as if she was speaking a different language.

She rolled her eyes, _Boys_, and then explained. "You know that she's going to forgive you, because that's just, Gabriella, but you can't understand why, because you "left her" and didn't "get her out in one piece", so how on earth can she forgive you? Am I wrong?"

"…no…" he answered, taking his seat for the second time.

"Then, this is something you have to understand, Troy," she took a step forward. "No matter what you did in the beginning, whether you think it wrong or not, in the end, you got her out of there alive, and that's all that matters."

She watched as he sat in silence, she could see the raging battle going on in his head. Sharpay was floored at how he could blame himself for so much but accept so little in return. He gave the slightest of nods after a few minutes and she backed away towards the door.

Troy's eyes shifted to the door as Sharpay paused, "I'm telling Ryan about England tomorrow," she paused again, and then turned back around, "Don't tell the others, I don't want me leaving to be a big deal. I don't even think the news would get a reaction out of them, maybe just a small cheer," she gave a laugh and turned back to leave.

"Sharpay, thank you," he watched as her long blond hair spun as she turned, "And I hope you find what you're looking for, in England," His voice was soft, his head giving the slightest of nods as he locked with her amber eyes.

"And I hope you hold on to what you have," Her amber eyes brightened as she gave him a reassuring smile, "She's something special, Troy."

"I know," Troy turned back to Gabriella as the door closed.

He smiled and took her hand in his, getting ready for another long wait, but he had a renewed confidence, coming from the most unexpected place. And as he sat in the bleach white hospital room, he realized that anything really was possible.

The renewal of his life just had to start with Gabriella waking up.

**.-.-.- Insert Content Music -.-.-.**

**(Review! I have nothing against people who like Troypay parings; I just don't like writing them. I think Sharpay has more potential to be a really good best friend, because it's so unexpected, then a girlfriend. But that's just me.)**


	10. Rise And Shine

_LAST TIME-_

"_Sharpay, thank you," he watched as her long blond hair spun as she turned, "And I hope you find what you're looking for, in England," His voice was soft, his head giving the slightest of nods as he locked with the blue eyes that matched his own._

"_And I hope you hold on to what you have," Her blue eyes brightened as she gave him a reassuring smile, "She's something special, Troy."_

"_I know," Troy turned back to Gabriella as the door closed. _

_He smiled and took her hand in his, getting ready for another long wait, but he had a renewed confidence, coming from the most unexpected place. And as he sat in the bleach white hospital room, he realized that anything really was possible._

_The renewal of his life just had to start with Gabriella waking up._

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The end of his pencil tapped impatiently against the open notebook on his desk. He faintly heard Miss. Darbus's random tangent about the Lion King on Broadway; it was safe to say, Troy wasn't listening. His hand scratched the healing scar on his left forearm; it had been itching like crazy lately.

But the clear blue sky had his full attention; the white puffy clouds making him smile. He unconsciously shifted in his seat and glanced over his shoulder. His eyes fell upon her empty desk in the back. He sighed as a wave of sadness washed over him.

It was another beautiful day that she wasn't going to see.

He slumped in his desk, his hand moving up to run over the scar on his right cheek. He sighed again, his blue eyes shooting up to the clock as the bell rang. He stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as his free hand found his crutch.

"I'll drop by with Taylor later after weight training," Chad said from behind him.

"Thanks," Troy replied feeling Miss. Darbus's sympathy filled eyes on his back. He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably as he walked out of the room. It had been three days since he had been released form the hospital. Four days since he had regained conciseness.

It had been a week and Gabriella still hadn't woken up.

He walked, or rather crutched down the East High hallways, feeling the eyes of the entire student body at his back. He could handle the stares, the dirty looks, even the mumbling behind his back…but the rumors. That was a whole other story.

The current one circling was that he had been driving drunk. Apparently he had veered off the road while intoxicated, flipping his Honda Civic two or three times, (the story varied in that part) until he rammed into a tree. The accident had hospitalized him for days and had put Gabriella into a coma.

No one knew the truth. About Ethan Montez. About the kidnapping. Or about the hours he and Gabriella had spent in hell. He had gone from star basketball captain to idiotic boyfriends who had put his girlfriend into a coma, basically overnight.

The truth had been kept under tight secrecy by the police department, just until they got all the facts straight. No one wanted a story leaked to the public that wasn't the truth. Chad, Taylor, Jason and Kelsi weren't even aloud to set the record straight, though they had tried anyway, finding out the hard way that people don't like the truth. To pass the time, the students had started making up stories, after all, if the captain of your basketball team showed up one day with nasty looking scars and crutches, wouldn't you want to know what had happened to him? And better yet, his MIA girlfriend?

The accusations just made Troy made. How could people be stupid enough to believe that he would put Gabriella's life in danger? But there was nothing he could do to stop the rumors. In high school, news spreads like wildfire, whether it was the truth or not. He didn't want to talk about the truth because it made him relive the dreaded events that were burned into the back of his mind. People, for a lack of better words, couldn't handle the truth.

So, he tuned everyone out and endured. It was the only thing he could do.

He pulled himself from his thoughts as paused at the attendance desk, Mrs. Porter, his administrator and occasional attendance lady, eyeing his crutch.

"I thought you didn't need that thing anymore?" she asked pulling up his class schedule.

Troy didn't have a last period and even though Mrs. Porter had seen him leave everyday since the beginning of the year, she still had to check. She was doing her job and he didn't mind the company. It seemed like she was the only one talking to him lately. Maybe that was because she knew the truth. As his administrator, she had been informed of his…situation…immediately. It was a School Board policy that the administration of a student should be informed immediately if he or she was the subject of a life changing or life-threatening event outside of school. So, Mrs. Porter had been told and from then on had been his escape. She knew **everything** because he trusted her with the truth. She was his guidance, which was a big plus for him at the moment. Keeping emotions bottle up inside could tear you apart, and he didn't need that right now.

"My dads making me use it," he shrugged, lifting up his left arm to shift the uncomfortable book bag on his shoulder. He saw her eyes shift to the thin, but red scar running along his left forearm. He fidgeted under her stare and she apologized.

"I just still can't believe," she confessed for the thousandth time as she glancing at the computer screen, "that all that actually happened."

"You're telling me," he mumbled as she checked his schedule.

"I swear. If Ethan Montez hadn't gotten a life sentence, he would have had a lot of angry people coming after him." The mouse clicked under her hand and he heard the printer turn on. "Me being one of them."

"Mrs. Porter," he shifted on his feet, "I really don't want to talk about it right now. Ok?"

"I'm sorry, Troy." She apologized, as she rolled over to the printer, grabbing his pass, "I didn't mean to stir up bad memories."

"It's ok," he shrugged. So many people had hounded him for an explanation after they had read about it, or watched it on the six o'clock news, because the news had said absolutely nothing. Just divulging that there had been a situation involving him and Gabriella. Troy had gotten more attention in the past couple of days than he had ever gotten after winning a basketball game. But it wasn't the kind of attention he wanted. Each and every question made his mind race back and remember all the horrible moments, and why Gabriella wasn't by his side.

"Tell her hey for me," Mrs. Porter gave him a weak smile, handing him the pass.

"I will as always," he returned the smile and took the red pass, crutching towards the exit doors. He felt and heard the lunchroom grow quiet as he crutched by. He shook his head as he pushed open the exit doors, taking a deep breath of the fresh, clean air.

He though back to the current rumor, the one about his car flipping and smiled. Because he was standing right in front of the supposed totaled Honda Civic, and it looked fine to him. It just showed that high school teenagers would buy anything, even if the proof of it not being true was staring them straight in the face. He patted the roof of the car with a grin as he opened the driver's side door.

He stopped off at the local flower shop, buying a dozen red roses to brighten up Gabriella's hospital room. The bleach white was getting old and Taylor had placed a colorful flower vase on the windowsill, Troy figured that it needed to be filled.

The drive to the Hospital was growing shorter everyday, and as always, the place he usually parked in was empty. He pulled in, shutting off the engine and resting his hands on his steering wheel. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. Every time he pulled into the parking place, he prayed that it was the day she would wake up.

He grabbed his crutch and book bag, pulling himself out of the car. He placed the uncomfortable crutch under his right arm and started forward, the automatic sliding doors opening as he entered. The blond receptionist gave him a sweet smile, though he could see the pain in her hazel eyes. He could almost read the, _"there both so young"_ running through her mind. He was getting good at reading what people were thinking by looking at there facial expressions, but it might have just been the fact that everyone was thinking the same thing.

He didn't let it get to him as he entered the elevator, taking it up to the fourth floor. The hallway was empty when he stepped out and he took no time in walking to her room. The doorknob no longer felt like it wanted his soul as he turned it, in fact, the metal felt worm in his hand.

He smiled at the vase on the far windowsill; it was the only color in the room. He walked forward, glancing to her still unconscious body, the steady beep of her EKG filling his head. The doctors had taken off the breathing mask two days ago, saying that she no longer needed it because she was breathing fine on her own. The wound in her lower back was almost healed, but the wound in her shoulder would take longer, the K-Bar damaging more muscle tissue than the small switchblade.

She would have noticeable scars, but they weren't going to be as extravagant as his. He tried to imagine what her face would look like when he showed her the thin, but long scar running across his chest from his left hip to his right shoulder. He smiled; he was rather fond of his new war wounds.

He placed the flowers in Taylor's empty vase on her windowsill, setting his book bag and crutch next to the wall. It was the only time he could walk without anyone giving him grief for not using the silver contraption. He hobbled over to the chair next to her bed, his hand winding around hers.

It was the same routine everyday since he had left the hospital to go back to school. Leave school, go to hospital, walk a little without his crutches and then sit next to her until the nurse told him that visiting hours were over, normally finishing his homework or doing a private session of PT. One of the doctors had given him a little step up stool, instructing him to use it for twenty minutes everyday. He would do the same thing everyday, and the funny thing was, it never got old, because he believed one day that she would wake up.

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers as his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and kissed her. Their lips meet and everything around him vanished. Nothing mattered but her and the moment.

His blue eyes went wide a second later, his head jerking back. His throat clenched shut, tears already leaking form the corners of his eyes.

For the first time in a week……she had kissed him back.

"…Gabriella?" he asked in a surprised whisper.

"…where you…expecting someone…else?"

**.-.-.- Insert Happy Music -.-.-.**

**(Review! I Know You Want To!)**


	11. Just Breathe

A/N: So, I really didn't like the ending of this chapter, so I changed it. I actually thought of another ending for the story last night that I think I'm going to go with, so just bear with me….please?

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* * *

_

_LAST TIME-_

_His blue eyes went wide a second later, his head jerking back. His throat clenched shut, tears already leaking form the corners of his eyes._

_For the first time in a week……she had kissed him back._

"…_Gabriella?" he asked in a surprised whisper._

"…_where you…expecting someone…else?"_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

He gaped at her.

It was the only thing he could do as he stared down into her **open** chocolate eyes. The tears flowed harder from the corner of his eyes as she smiled at him, her hand tightening around his. He closed his open mouth, his smile spreading from ear to ear. His heartbeat was out of control as his legs turned to jelly. The happiness was threatening to make him explode and he could finally feel the butterflies coming back into his stomach.

"Just…breathe," her left hand moved up to his cheek, wiping the tears from his eyes. He let out a choked laugh as he turned into her hand, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath, calming his racing heart. She was there, right there, staring at him, awake.

"You woke up," he grinned down to her.

"Of course---" she coughed, her throat dry after not being used in a week.

"Water?" he asked and turned to the bathroom as she nodded. He limped towards the bathroom, finding an empty cup underneath the sink. He hobbled back to her, handing her the precious water. She gulped it down greedily, sighing as the last of the liquid slid down her parched throat.

"Better?" he asked, sitting down in the chair next to her bed again.

"Much," she smiled at him clearing her throat, her dark eyes then turning serious, "You were limping. Are you ok?"

He gave a laugh, shaking his head, "You've been unconscious for a week and you're asking me if **I'm** ok?"

"So all of it…" her gaze shifted down to the bed sheets, her eyes scrunching together, "…really happened?"

His hand wrapped around her clenched fist, "Sadly, it did." He paused, and then asked, "Can you remember?"

"Some of it," she confessed shrugging, wincing as her right shoulder moved. "Other parts are really hazy, especially towards the end."

His jaw clenched as he remembered the last couple moments on conciseness. He glanced out the window, his eyes catching a small white cloud. He felt her hand on his right cheek and he looked back to her.

"You like it?" he smiled at her as she rubbed the small scar. She gave a small laugh, though he could see the pain in her eyes.

"I could get used to it," she flashed him a small, but fake, smile. He could tell it had been forced. Remember the whole, getting good at reading people's emotions trait? Yeah, well it was kicking in again, and he could see the guilt washing through her.

He leaned forward, burying his face in her neck. He took another deep breath as he wrapped his arms around her, delicately so as not to hurt her, but strong enough to tell her that he was never leaving. "God, I thought I was going to lose you."

"I was so scared, Troy," she wrapped her one good arm around him, pulling him as close as he would go. After all, it's kind of impossible for two objects of the same mass to occupy the same space, but that didn't mean they weren't trying. "I tried not to fall asleep, I tried so hard to not leave you, but my body wouldn't listen and it just dragged me under," she was crying, her body shaking with choked sobs and fear. "I was so scared when the darkness consumed me. When everything around me fell to nothingness and I was completely alone. I was terrified that I wouldn't get to see you again……ever."

He shifted her over in the bed, laying himself down next to her. She lifted her head up, letting him put his arm underneath her neck. She moved closer to him, resting her face on his chest. His heart was racing again, his mind not truly believing that she was in his arms, safe and awake.

"I would never leave you," he whispered, and then added, "even if you asked me to."

"I know," she answered, glancing to the scar running across his left forearm. Her left hand wrapped around his, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought back. "But there was a time, in the darkness, when everything fell completely still and silent. I couldn't even think. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't hear your voice in the back of my head. I couldn't even feel your hand around mine," she paused, her voce growing soft. "……Did I die?……"

He had been dreading the question, but answered anyways, "……two minutes……"

She gave a small laugh, "I wonder how many people in the world can say that." She moved her right arm slowly, grunting a little until it rested across her chest. He felt her stiffen and he looked down. Her eyes were glued to the front of his t-shirt, her hand rubbing against the fabric. Her eyes held confusion as she felt the bandages underneath, "I…remember…this."

He sighed and lifted up his shirt to his bellybutton, there was no point in trying to hide it, she already knew. Her hand inched towards the bottom of the bandaged scar; it was the only one that hadn't healed yet. She traced the bandage, following it up until it vanished underneath his shirt.

"Where does it end?" she asked in a whisper.

"Top of my right shoulder," he answered. He watched as she closed her eyes and sniffed, tears falling.

"Hey, hey, hey," he wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I'm fine," he paused and gave her a crooked smile. "I actually can't wait to go to the pool and show it off."

"I can't believe you." She gave a choked laugh. "How can you be so nonchalant?"

He tightened his hold around her, "Because I finally have you safe. Nothing else in the world matters but you." She gave him a soft smile. "So, I'll be fine as long as you're with me."

"Then you're going to be happy for a very long time." She lifted her head up and kissed him, then broke it and touched her forehead to his, staring into his crystal blue eyes. "Because I'm never leaving you."

"That's what I like to hear," he sighed nodding his head. She sat up straighter in his arms, placing her head under the crook of his neck.

"I remember hearing Sharpay," she stated a little surprised. "Was she here?"

"You heard, Sharpay?" he questioned. He had never really read anything about comas, but he remembered hearing something about the patients actually being aware. Actually being able to hear what was going on around them. He wondered if it was actually true.

"It was like listening to far away thunder." She tried to explain, "I couldn't really understand and I guess I wasn't really hearing anything, it was just like, a noise." She paused. "But I knew it was her voice." She paused again, and then asked. "You know sometimes when you aren't really listening to anything, but then you hear this one," she paused, looking for the right word, "sound, I guess, and you can almost instantly put a face and name to it?"

"Kind of," he admitted, though he wasn't really sure.

"I just didn't have the will to do anything. It felt like I had something heavy on my shoulders twenty-four-seven and I couldn't get it off. But when I heard her," she paused and looked up to him with a grateful smile, "and you, I grew stronger, and the weight lessened a bit. Then, today, I finally felt you. Your touch, your lips. Everything vanished and when I opened my eyes, all I could see was your face."

"What can I say, I have the magic kiss," he flashed a crooked smile and she laughed. "I think I inherited it from my father."

As soon as the word father left his lips, he realized his mistake. Her eyes went wide and she tried to sit up. Her breath quickened, but he held onto her. She calmed down a second later, hearing his soothing voice in her ear.

"He can't hurt you," he whispered in a calm voice. "He's in jail, he can't hurt us anymore."

"A lot of good that place did the first time," she grunted. Then her eyes went wide, her voice quick and frantic, "He's already in jail? What day is it? You said I was unconscious for a week?"

"Easy," he said, his eyes confused. "It's June 1st."

She groaned out loud, rolling her eyes.

"What?" he asked, a little panicked.

"Graduations in like, a week." She was shaking her head. He couldn't help but laugh at the action. She'd been unconscious for a week and all she could worry about was that she might miss graduation. "If they make me stay here, I'm going to be pissed."

"Well," he tightened his grip around her, "you certainly can't just walk out."

"Sure I can," she flashed him smile.

"Yeah." He smiled, his left eyebrow quirked. "You think I'm going to let you do that?"

"Troy," she whined at him. "I don't want to miss my senior graduation."

He laughed, shaking his head as he teased her, "you're like a kindergartner."

"And you're my knight in shining armor," she smiled and his cheeks flushed. She was the only one who could make him blush. Anything concerning her or what she said always made him blush.

"With the magic kiss," he put in, smiling, "don't forget that part."

She gave a small laugh, nodding her head in agreement. "With the magic kiss." She sighed, laying her head on his chest. She closed her eyes, her breathing evening out.

"You tired?" he asked softly. He knew it had taken almost all of her energy to wake up, but letting her fall back to sleep scared him. For all he knew, she wouldn't wake up if she closed her eyes again.

"A little," she whispered opening her eyes. He knew she could feel his slight hesitation. "Don't worry, I'll wake up."

"Maybe I should go get the doctor before you fall asleep," he moved to get up, but she tightened her arms around his chest. He looked back to her, and found her eyes wide with fright.

"Please," she pleaded softly. "I just want you right now."

"Okay," he smiled and moved closer to her again. She snuggled closer to his chest, resting her head on his chest. He moved his hand forward, stroking her cheek, the action making her eyes close.

A conversation outside of the room caught Troy's attention. He turned his head to the hospital room door just before it opened.

"I really don't think she's going to need all this stuff," Chad stated walking into the hospital room. His dark eyes looked up, his mouth almost falling instantly open. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes so wide Troy thought they might fall out of his head.

Taylor backed into the room behind him, "Well, there's the problem, Chad. The word think was in that sentence." She had a cardboard box in her hand and Troy could make out some of the contents. Picture frames and flower vases lined the top, and he caught the bright red of a…carpet? He smiled when he looked to Chad's wide eyes.

"I don't think we're going to need that stuff anymore," Chad choked back to Taylor, though he never turned. His eyes were still staring straight at the two, awake, bodies inhabiting the hospital bed.

"What are you talking about, Chad?" Taylor asked turning around.

Troy felt Gabriella cringe next to him as Taylor's mouth fell open. He was expecting the reaction, but still wasn't ready when she dropped the box, the contents falling to the ground. He heard the picture frames smash and break, but that was all drowned out as Taylor squealed.

She sprinted past Chad's still shocked form, throwing her arms around both Troy and Gabriella. She cried, hot tears of happiness running down her cheeks.

"Just breathe" Gabriella patted her best friend's back.

Taylor sniffed, pulling back and sitting in the chair next to the bed. She gave a quizzical look to Troy, "What? How?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders, "I just kissed her."

"Wow," Chad smiled, shaking off the initial shock and taking a step forward. "I thought that only worked in the movies?"

"Apparently, I'm special," Troy smiled raising his eyebrows, "who knew?"

"I just can't believe it," Taylor grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm awake," Gabriella shrugged. "What's not to believe?"

"I'm just afraid I'm dreaming," the dark girl shifted her eyes down to the ground. "I don't want you to leave again."

"I'm not going to leave you guys," Gabriella looked to Chad, then Taylor. Finally, her eyes locked with Troy's blue ones. "I promise, I'm never going to scare you guys like that again."

"Good," Chad smiled, "because that whole 'pretending like you weren't going to wake up thing," he shook his head, "wasn't funny at all."

"I know," Gabriella gave a small smile. "I didn't mean to fall asleep for so long. I'm sorry."

"We know it wasn't your fault," Taylor said her hand tightening around Gabriella's. "It was just scary there for a little bit. We actually thought that," she paused her voice growing soft, "your father had really succeeded in what he wanted to do."

"He almost did," Gabriella whispered, and then turned to smile at Troy. "But Troy came back, he saved me."

"Boyfriend to the rescue," Chad smiled.

"You should have just run," Gabriella ran her hand along the healing scar on Troy's forearm. "All of this is my fault, your pain, it's all because of me."

"No, its not," the three friends sighed out at once.

"No more apologies," Troy whispered to her. "I'm fine. Your awake, and our worlds can start turning again."

"We can at least get those nasty rumors out of the way," Chad sat on the edge of the bed.

"What rumors?" Gabriella asked sitting up straighter.

"Nothing big," Chad shrugged his shoulders. "Just that the entire school thinks that Troy was driving drunk, flipped his Civic and put you into a coma."

"WHAT?!"

"It's nothing," Troy answered, calming her with soft words. "I can handle it because I know the truth." He stroked her cheek, "I would never hurt you."

"Even though he's back in jail," Gabriella was shaking her head, "my father still finds ways to make my life miserable."

"You need to stop worrying about your troubles." Taylor's hand tightened around Gabriella's. "You're both okay and that's all that matters."

"Jason and Kelsi are going to go crazy," Troy smiled.

"Jason and Kelsi?" Chad laughed and smiled. "Dude, Miss. Darbus is going to flip a switch."

**.-.-.- Insert Happy Music -.-.-.**

**(Review! Graduation and then Airport.)**


	12. Waves Of Red And White

A/N: Artist: Vitamin C, Song Title: Graduation. I have Midterms this week, so I don't really know when I'll update next, sorry._

* * *

LAST TIME-_

"_You need to stop worrying about your troubles." Taylor's hand tightened around Gabriella's. "You're both okay and that's all that matters."_

"_Jason and Kelsi are going to go crazy," Troy smiled._

"_Jason and Kelsi?" Chad laughed and smiled. "Dude, Miss. Darbus is going to flip a switch."_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Troy fidgeted in his seat as the valedictorian stepped up to the podium to address the Graduating class of 2008, their family and friends. His red cap was tight on his head and his gown, of the same color, was stifling hot. The shiny black dress shoes he was wearing were uncomfortable, considering they were his fathers and a size to big.

Everyone around him was anxious, and the mass of red and white cap and gowns constantly moved ever so slightly. His hand unconsciously went up to the small scar on his right cheek, a habit he had developed whenever he got nervous.

It didn't help that their graduation was being held in a concert hall, which was currently holding 2,000 anxious parents, friends and loved ones. The stage was lighted perfectly, or to the point where if you tried to look out into the audience the only thing you would see was a blinding light. There were two big plasma screens on either side of the stage, broadcasting from cameras that were taping the ceremony. This guaranteed that anyone, including the people in the nosebleed sections, could witness the once in a lifetime celebration as if they were front row center.

_And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives  
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25  
I keep thinking times will never change  
Keep on thinking things will always be the same  
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back  
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track_

_And if you got something that you need to say  
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day  
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down  
These memories are playing like a film without sound  
And I keep thinking of that night in June  
I didn't know much of love  
But it came too soon_

He turned his head, the tassel on the side of his cap swinging in his face. He annoyingly swatted it away as he found her deep chocolate eyes a few rows behind and to the right of him. He watched as she gave a small laugh, amused at his annoyance towards the small tassel that gleamed with their graduating year.

Despite everything they had gone through, despite everything **she** had gone through, there was a smile on her delicate face. Her right arm was in a bright blue sling across her chest, and he marveled at how strong she was. It had been only a week since she had woken up from her coma, and even with the doctor's strong orders, there she was. Her eyes were anxious and she was fidgeting in her seat. She drew back his attention, dipping her head slightly so only he would notice. Her eyes held concern, but he smiled in reassurance. He could tell that she didn't believe him, but he was grateful that she let it slid.

"You ready?" she mouthed, her eyes brightening as a playful grin spread across her face.

He shrugged, moving his head from side to side as he contemplated the question. He looked back to her and mouthed, "…no…"

Her eyes softened before she mouthed, "I love you," and then, "be strong."

He flashed her a lopsided grin before mouthing, "I love you to." Her smile made his heart race and his blood pump. Even though she was feet away from him, anything she did made butterflies appear in his stomach. He locked his blue eyes with her chocolate ones, inclining his head as he mouthed, "Always. Forever."

_And there was me and you  
And then we got real cool  
Stay at home talking on the telephone with me  
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared  
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair  
And this is how it feels_

It was a moment that made his heart skip a beat. The kids in his row stood, filing out so that they could make their way to the side of the stage. He mad it to his feet with the rest of his classmates, limping forward as his row filed out. He almost cursed himself for leaving his crutch at home. Both he and his father had had a heated discussing about whether or not Troy would need the aluminum device. In the end, he had won, his father giving him permission to walk without it. He had been certain that he wouldn't need it, now he wasn't so sure.

He saw Jason's row stand up as soon as his row did, his friend's last name coming remotely his. Troy scanned through the crowd as he stopped in the line of students waiting to be called across the stage. Both Taylor and Kelsi gave him anxious, but encouraging smiles. Their white caps covered the top of their heads and their hair flowed down over their shoulders. He spied the blond hair of Ryan and Sharpay, both were clasping the others hand in a death grip, but they returned his smile, too.

He found Chad's curly hair through the crowd and laughed, he didn't know how as much of it did fit underneath the red cap. Chad's eyes brightened when he realized that he was being made fun of. It was a typical reaction, that boy loved attention. He flashed Troy an ear-to-ear grin, his teeth glowing as he threw his thumbs up.

Finally, his blue eyes found Gabriella. He gave her a fearful and nervous smile, but she just inclined her head, her eyes glowing with admiration. The white cap above her head was such a contrast to her black hair, which, like Kelsi and Taylor's, flowed down a little past her shoulders. She looked drop dead gorgeous.

_As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
Come whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever_

He hesitated, his blue eyes staring at the metal stairs in front of him. It made him angry that something so simple could prove to be such a problem. He hadn't walked up stairs in over two weeks, and any incline at all, he had been able to tackle with his trusty crutch under his arm. But now, having no support, the stairs made him hesitate. He was vaguely aware of the names being called, or that he was holding up the line. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he turned.

"Troy," Jason stood behind him, his hand outstretched "Do you need help?"

Troy looked into his friend's eyes and a mutual understanding passed between the two. A normal, stubborn teen would have rejected the offer, but Troy saw honor in Jason's eyes. It wasn't honor from a player to a captain, it was a shared feeling passed between good friends. Never did it cross Troy's mind to reject the offer.

"Thanks." Troy took Jason's outstretched hand, the two climbing the stairs together.

_So if we get the big jobs  
And we make the big money  
When we look back now  
Will our jokes still be funny?  
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?  
Still be trying to break every single rule  
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?  
Can we ever find a job that won't interfere with a tan?  
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye  
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly  
And this is how it feels_

It was a time when his heart actually did stop. The boy in front of him stepped out onto the lighted stage as Mrs. Darbus called out his name. He glanced to older woman and drama director as she found his eyes, her smile flowing with pride. He had to admit, he was rather fond of her. Beneath all the abnormal and awkwardness, she was a true human being…and a great teacher.

He smiled to himself and laughed as he glanced to the floor. He had always been the first. Out of the entire group of nine, he had been considered first in everything. He hadn't chosen to be the leader; it was just that everyone seemed to follow him. He had been dubbed the captain by his teammates, and now, he was first by his last name. He was the first out of the group to literally graduate high school, to walk across the stage and be handed his diploma. He was the first in a legendary group of nine to be handed his future.

He was pulled from his thought, however; as the concert hall grew completely quiet. Everyone knew who was going to be called next. His blue eyes shot up, his body going completely numb as his name rang out in his ears. H had forgotten how to walk, his legs completely unresponsive. He was pushed forward gently, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Jason.

"Go on Troy. Be first," Jason's brown eyes were glowing, "so that we can follow. We'll be right behind you."

It was the encouragement from his friends that got his legs moving. He took one step forward, limping, and then another until he was steadily making his way towards Principal Matsui. A roar of applause and cheering made him slow his pace, and even though he was told that you couldn't see anyone in the audience, he looked out anyway. A wave of red and white made the widest smile he had ever shown spread across his face. He could see that his friends and family, along with the entire student body were standing for him. Mrs. Darbus gently touched his arm as he passed her, and he returned her smile. He approached Principal Matsui, the smaller man flashing him a wide grin.

"Congratulations, Troy," he stuck out his hand and Troy accepted. "We're going to miss you."

"Thanks," Troy accepted his diploma, the paper seeming awfully heavy in his hands. "I'm going to miss it to."

_As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
Come whatever  
We will still be  
Friends Forever_

He was anxious again. Taylor had just gone, getting a roar of cheering and whistles from Chad and everyone else. It was a funny feeling he couldn't explain as he saw her fidgeting in the line next to the stage. She would constantly glance over to him, her eyes searching for advice for the nervousness in her gut. He would just smile and she would shake her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath he could see from his seat.

He saw her freeze when the girl in front of her was called. Again, like him, the entire concert hall grew silent. As he listened to the many whispers around him, a plan formed in his mind. He stood up, standing on his chair as he beat Mrs. Darbus to calling out Gabriella's name.

"GABRIELLA ANN MONTEZ!" he cupped his hand over his mouth and yelled. "I LOVE YOU!"

He could see her blush from where he stood, without the help of the huge plasma screens on either side of the stage. Mrs. Darbus cleared her throat and called out Gabriella's name, but her voice wasn't heard. After his yell, the hall had erupted into cheers, hollers, whistles, and a thunderous applause.

He smiled as Gabriella made her way across the stage. She flashed him a furious but embarrassed glare. He laughed to himself. She would thank him later. He watched as she accepted her diploma and made her way to her seat as the girl behind her was called. He sat and turned to glance at her. He gave her a lopsided grin as she rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her beautiful face.

Two hundred names and forty-five minutes later, Jamie Zimmerman strode across the stage, her head held high. She was the last of 2008 to be granted their future. There was anticipation in the air as Principal Matsui made his way towards the podium.

He cleared his throat and Troy thought he was going to lung into a long speech. "Well, I did have this whole speech planned out," the students groaned and he smiled, "but that what's I thought the answer would be, so I trashed it." The students cheered. "So, without further a due," Troy's muscles were singing, his hand flexing beside his body, ready for the reflexive grab for his red cap. "I give you the graduating class of 2008!"

The sky was instantaneously filled with wave upon wave of red and white caps. The cheers were so deafening and powerful that the ground and air shook with the excitement.

_Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?  
Can we survive it out there?  
Can we make it somehow?  
I guess I thought that this would never end  
And suddenly it's like we're women and men  
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?  
Will these memories fade when I leave this town  
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye  
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly_

It was done. He had graduated high school, but two hours without her in close proximity was taking its toll. He had discarded his red cap and gown with his parents as he searched frantically through the crowd for her.

"Troy!"

He turned at the sound of her voice as Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Jason, Sharpay, Zeke, and Ryan converged on their location. His heart beat faster as she ran to him, her one good arm wrapping around his neck as she pulled him instantly into a kiss. He wasn't complaining.

A bright flash of light made him pull away and look to the right. He groaned as his mother waved to him from behind her digital camera.

"Mom!" he whined, making Gabriella giggle from between his arms.

"What?" his mother pulled back as if offended. "With that historic declaration of love, Troy, I have to at least get a picture of the couple."

"Dude," Chad said from beside Taylor, his arm draped over his girlfriend's shoulders. "She's right. That was legendary."

"I can see it now," Zeke lifted his hand up as if he was reading a newspaper headline, "the forever story of Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez, the two lovers that dared to break free."

"Enough, enough," Mrs. Bolton pushed him closer to the group, Sharpay hanging onto his arm. "Time for a group photo."

The group groaned but drew together. Troy and Gabriella were in the middle, Chad wrapping his left arm around Troy's shoulder as Taylor grabbed his right. Ryan put his arm around Gabriella's other shoulder as Jason, Kelsi, Sharpay and Zeke crouched down in front.

"Smile," there were tears in Mrs. Bolton's voice as she focused the camera. Mr. Bolton placed his hand on her shoulder for comfort. The other parents stood behind her, tears in the mother's eyes and proud smiles on the father's faces. "Perfect." The mother said as she pressed down on the button, the camera flashing.

"After Grad!" Chad yelled, thrusting a fist into the air.

"PARTY TIME!" The group yelled together, laughing.

The parents groaned.

_As we go on  
We remember  
All the times we  
Had together  
And as our lives change  
Come whatever  
We will still be  
**Friends Forever**_

**.-.-.- Insert Happy Music -.-.-.**

**(Review! The song wasn't predictable at all, right? (sarcasm) lol. Anywho, one more chapter to go! OK, so, it just occurred to me that Zeke's last name comes before Troy's, but I'm bending the rules a little. Bear with me :)**


	13. Epilogue: Two Goodbyes For Two Friends

He stood on his toes to see over the crowd in front of him

He stood on his toes to see over the crowd in front of him. The airport was unusually crowded, Gabriella hanging onto his arm to stay with him. "I swear Chad, if you told us the wrong loading gate, I'll strangle you."

His curly-haired friend gave him a sidelong glare past Taylor's shoulder. "The computer said Gate E3, that's where we're going."

"Who would have thought it'd be this crowded." Jason grumbled, pushing past a group of teenage girls swarming a rather attractive man.

"College does start in a week, we should have guessed." Gabriella sighed. She paused and looked back over her shoulder to the one man who didn't have a girl attached to his arm.

Zeke.

The tallest of their friends was not scanning over the tops pf people's heads. Instead, his eyes were downcast and every time he passed a couple, the shine in his usually cheery eyes would dull. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his zip up and his feet were dragging. To say that Zeke Baylor was depressed would be an understatement.

Sharpay leaving for college in England had sunk the boy into the deepest depression Troy had ever witnessed. How could the Ice Queen of East High have such an effect over someone? The fact of the matter was; she was no longer the Ice Queen. She was just a kid. A student. A friend. A _girlfriend_. Still, she did, on occasion, revert back to her old ways of being a little spoiled and expecting people to do things for her. But everyone around her was finally seeing her for who she truly was as a person. The whole ordeal between Troy, Gabriella, and Ethan Montez had really humanized her, and she had shown her true friendship.

Sharpay Evans was an _ordinary human being_.

"Found them!" Troy shouted over the nose form the crowded loading area. Zeke's downcast eyes automatically shot up, and the smallest of smiles spread across his face. Troy had caught the familiar form of a reasonably tall blond with over extravagant ear rings and the blond boy next to her, his head covered in one of his many famous hats.

Before Troy could get a greeting out to the twins, Zeke had pushed past him. Running, he collided with Sharpay's back and lifted her up from behind, his arms wrapping around her stomach. She let out a squeak, which turned into a laugh when she realized who it was.

"Zeke!" She turned around and jumped into his arms. Then, she glanced over to Troy. "I thought I told you not to come."

"You really thought we were going to let you leave without saying goodbye?" He shrugged, Gabriella smiling beside him.

Tears brimmed in the blonds eyes and she hugged Zeke again, finishing with a soft kiss. "Now I don't want to go." She admitted, a sad smile no her face.

"Don't you dare have second thoughts about this." Zeke touched his forehead to hers. "I didn't come here to change your mind. I wouldn't be a very good boyfriend if I had. I will support you no matter what, and if you want to go to college in England," he shrugged. "So be it."

"So noble." She kissed him again.

"You deserve this." He hugged her tighter. "I'll be here when you get back. Just promise me." He pulled away from her, locking with her eyes.

"Promise what?" She asked when he didn't continue.

He shoved out a sigh. "Promise me that you'll still be mine when all of this is said and done. No going off and falling in love with some tall English boy with an accent."

"Now you know I can't resist the accent." She cracked a smile.

"Not kidding." He glared down at her playfully. "I'm serious. None of that."

An important sounding man's voice sounded over the audio system. "Now boarding all passengers to London, England at Gate E3."

Sharpay looked up and let out a halfhearted sigh. She pulled away from Zeke, walking behind him to Jason and Kelsi. "Thank you." She hugged Jason, and then turned to Kelsi. "Keep up with your music girl. Maybe someday I'll be singing to it." Kelsi only blushed, hugging the blond tighter.

They broke apart and Sharpay turned to Chad and Taylor. She went through the same routine, muttering a small 'thank you'. Finally, it was Tory and Gabriella's turn.

She stepped forward. "I don't know what to say." She smiled at Gabriella. "I tried so hard to find an enemy in you, but instead, I got one of my closest friends." She hugged the brunette with all her might. "Thank you."

Gabriella laughed into her shoulder. "I don't know why you're thanking me," she pulled away, smiling. "I'm supposed to be doing the thanking. You kept Troy together for me during my slight absence. I couldn't have asked for a better friend than you, Sharpay. I'll miss you."

"Wow, that's a first. _You_, Gabriella Montez, will be missing _me_, Sharpay Evans." The blond cracked a smile so false to try and hide her sad eyes, but Gabriella saw, and an understanding passed between the two.

"Yeah, well, I'm secretly hoping you fall in love with some English boy," Zeke turned his head around to glare at her. Gabriella shoved him off, smiling, keeping up the sarcasm. "Just so you can stop trying to steal my boyfriend."

Sharpay laughed and looked to Troy. She scrunched up her eyebrows as if she were thinking. "I think I'm finally over Troy Bolton."

"Aww," the blue-eyed boy played like he was hurt. "Sharpay Evans is over me? Damn, I must be loosing my touch."

Sharpay rolled her eye and hugged him. "No, I think I'm just waiting to see if you're ever going to get over yourself."

He cracked a crooked grin. "Never."

Sharpay sighed hopelessly and turned back to Zeke. "Of, course I saved the best for last." She wrapped her arms around his neck and touched her forehead to his again. "The man that I will never forget and always love." One kiss and they both were crying. Not the heavy, obnoxious tears, but the tiny ones that just slip from the corners of their eyes. The tears of loss and not wanting to let go. The tears of knowing the truth.

And the truth was that the two were so in love that they were afraid to be apart.

"Final boarding call for all passengers to London, England at Gate E3."

Sharpay let out one sob. "_I love you_ Zeke. Goodbye." She Turned, grabbed her carry on luggage out of her brothers hands and headed towards her gate. The remaining members of the group watched as Zeke Baylor wiped furiously at his eyes, trying to stop the tears.

Troy cleared his throat. "A friend once told me that if you have something special in your life, you should hold on and protect it." He paused; the hand that was in his jacket pocket was sweating. "I think it's rather ironic that she wouldn't follow her own advice."

Zeke turned to him. "What?"

"It's not right for you two to be apart. You both have something special. We all see it, we all know. I just didn't think it was fair that we all had happy endings and you're stuck with crap." Troy pulled out the plane ticket. "So we all did something about it."

"Wh—What is this?" Zeke reached his hand out, taking the plane ticket. "Troy? You Guys?"

"The six of us scrounged up enough money for your ticket and Ryan was able to finagle a little deal with his father. As long as you were accepted and won a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of England, Mr. Evans would pay for the rest of the costs." Troy explained with a smile.

"I didn't apply there." Zeke stammered. "I knew I wouldn't get in."

"That's where you're wrong," Gabriella smiled. "You did get in."

"And you got the scholarship." Taylor said.

"I could understand where you got my application, but the scholarship?" A small smile was spreading across his face as the puzzle pieces put themselves tog ether in his mind.

Ryan spoke up. "Are house has security cameras, Zeke." When he still didn't get it, the twin explained. "You remember that time you came over when my parents were out of town and made Sharpay that really extravagant dinner. Yeah, well, we kind of used that for your scholarship, and the Board liked it enough to grant you admissions."

Taylor nodded her head. "I spiced up the video a little, made it fun, and they liked you enough." She shrugged.

Zeke was silent for a moment. "What about my Mom and Dad? I just can't leave."

"They already know. Your Mom brought all your luggage before we got here. It's already onboard, and they know your going. Everything set."

"I'm—I'm going to school in England?" Zeke smiled out. "With Sharpay?"

"Well, that depends." Troy smiled.

"On what?" Zeke asked.

"On whether you're fast enough to catch your fleeting girlfriend." Gabriella giggled.

Zeke turned, finding Sharpay at the desk close to the gate, handing the receptionist her ticket. Troy took a step forward, poking Zeke in the back. "Go get her."

Zeke turned and sprinted, yelling Sharpay's name as he went. Troy and the other cheered for him, his legs automatically pumping faster with the support. She turned at her name, and even from their distance, Gabriella and the others could see her priceless smile. She dropped everything and ran to greet him, the two crashing together and spinning like some dramatic scene from a movie. They laughed and smiled and hugged and kissed before they finally turned to the group and waved. Soon the receptionist was urging them to get on boards and the two started their walk down towards the plane.

Troy turned to Gabriella and kissed her. Happiness welling up strongly in his chest and he smiled against her lips. She ran her hands across his back and touched her forehead to his. "You did good Troy. I'm proud of you."

"I'm so happy that I could share it with you." She whispered back. The one statement making past events run through his head. It only made him feel stronger. They had survived. They had lived to see Sharpay Evans fall in love with the most unexpected of people.

The whole situation proved that anything _was_ possible.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Well, took me long enough, but its done. Review because I still like reviews and I wouldn't mind if you headed over to my other story Welcome to the War. I have grown extremely fond of it. I hope you like it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Howling Out!


End file.
